Chapter 61 - The Avengers (AU) (Part II)
published: Monday, 6 July 2020
Added characters:
Obadiah Stane: Octavian
S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill: Clarisse La Rue
—*—
"It's a lovely night for a jog, isn't it?" Percy couldn't help himself when Annabeth walked into the kitchen, in mis-matched leggings and sports bra.
The clock read 2.34am, and Percy and Hazel had just finished another episode of Downton Abbey.
It was Annabeth's first night living in the Tower, and clearly she wasn't feeling very peaceful. She didn't answer, simply taking a bottle of cold water from the refrigerator.
Words echoed in Percy's head.
Big man in a suit of armour. Take that off, what are you?
Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.
He cleared his throat turning back to Hazel. "Another episode?"
Hazel's gaze was narrowed in on Annabeth, who was facing the other way. Percy could almost see the analyses running through her head.
Stop that, he wanted to tell her. It freaks me out when you look at us like another one of your case files.
Percy didn't say it though. Hazel already disliked him, as was clear from her initial report about him to Mr D — "doesn't play well with others" — and he didn't need to make it worse.
I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself.
This was officially the most time Percy had spent in Annabeth's presence since the Battle of New York. Apparently eight months apart hadn't been enough to ease the tension.
Fighting was easy. Shooting robots as Annabeth bounded by his side, his rays rebounding off her shield to sear away enemies.
This was the difficult part. After the battle. Percy couldn't think of a single conversation they had ever had that didn't end in an argument.
It was a clash of personality, Percy told himself. He'd pretty much spent his entire life fending for himself, and then suddenly, he was expected to be a team player.
Annabeth was a leader. And a soldier. She expected him to take her orders like gospel.
You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play. To lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.
Percy hadn't forgotten the harsh words Annabeth had thrown at him on board the Helicarrier. He doubted that she'd forgotten either.
I think I would just cut the wire.
Always a way out. You know, you might not be a threat but you'd better stop pretending to be a hero.
"So, what's keeping you up late?" Percy heard his own voice like it was coming from someone else. Annabeth's words from almost a year ago were imprinted on his brain like a horrible burn. "Missing old friends? Trying to figure out how to turn on a phone?"
He knew it was harsh — reopening old wounds. But he felt so angry, hearing their argument replay in his head over and over again.
A hero? Like you? You're a laboratory experiment, Chase, everything special about you came out of a bottle.
Put on the suit. Let's go a few rounds.
"You know, I do miss my old friends. Especially Howard. I don't know how he ever made someone like you. He's ten times the man you'll ever be," Annabeth spat.
Percy flinched like he'd been slapped. Annabeth didn't back down, defiance and obstination shining in her expression.
"I take back what I said about the show," he said icily. "Goodnight, Hazel."
Percy didn't stop until he reached his room, heart hammering and blood pounding past his eardrums.
Percy knew he was being unreasonable. He had started it. But just the sight of Annabeth made him want to punch a wall, and generally Percy wasn't a very violent person.
And for her to bring up Howard? The person who'd made Percy feel inadequate his entire life, like he had to prove himself just to be loved by his own parents?
Percy stopped at the door to his bedroom. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep after this. He redirected his route down to the workshop.
God, if he'd known Annabeth Chase had been like this, he wouldn't have felt so pressured to live up to her image his entire life. Hell, Howard spent more time searching for his long-lost experiment than he did with Percy.
Then lo' and behold, she was alive. 70 years trapped sleeping in the ice. And with the incredible ability to piss Percy off with a look.
Annabeth reminded Percy of everything he could've been, everything he failed to be in Howard's eyes.
You're a failure, Howard would snap. How can you even call yourself a Jackson?
And even after all these years, Percy still couldn't quite convince himself that Howard had been lying.
The next day, there was an Avengers call to sort out a neo-HYDRA cell. This was Annabeth's area of expertise, so Percy followed her orders, at least until he figured out how to disarm the bombs inside the warehouse.
He'd left the capture of the culprits up to Frank and Leo before zooming into the now evacuated warehouse.
On the bright side, Percy did disable all the explosives in time. But the delinquents got away, and Percy landed outside with his team, bracing himself when he saw Annabeth fuming expression.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Annabeth demanded. "That was an order to stay on the HYDRA cell!"
"Can I get a 'thank you'?" Percy flipped the faceplate up, returning the glare. "I saved the warehouse from exploding! It was a shit order!"
"No, you disobeyed orders, almost got killed in the process, and let the culprits get away! Who says they won't try something like this again, and this time, succeed?" Annabeth threw her hands up in the air. "You never listen, Jackson! If you had just listened to me—"
"We'd be standing next to a pile of rubble!" Percy snapped.
"It was evacuated!"
"The force of the explosion could've sent debris flying our way!"
"No, don't even pretend like this was in our best interests! You did this for you!" Annabeth yelled furiously. "You always have to play the goddamn hero, and one of these days, you're going to get yourself and all of us killed!"
"Disobeying orders was the right decision!" Percy said firmly, refusing to sway from his opinion.
"Disobeying orders is not how a team works!"
"A team?" Percy echoed, releasing a mirthless laugh. "Right, because teammates and their captain always have shouting matches every time they see each other!"
"Maybe if you just stopped being so infuriating all the time—" Annabeth cut herself off, cheeks flaming red.
"You look like a tomato," the words tumbled out before Percy could stop them.
"That's exactly what I mean," Annabeth said harshly, gnashing her teeth together frustratedly. "It's like you live to annoy me!" She took a deep breath. "Stop trying to be a hero, Jackson. It's not you."
As she stalked off, Percy flipped down his faceplate so the other Avengers wouldn't see his murderous expression. They were standing a little ways away, staring between the two of them like it was a tennis match and they were watching to see who would crack first.
Percy wished he'd taken up Annabeth's offer to go a few rounds. Hell, he could probably pound her into the mat without any effort.
"The Quinjet's ready," Percy's robotic voice came out, altered by the suit. "Let's go." He ignored Hazel's piercing stare as he started towards the vehicle, not waiting for them to follow.
As much as Percy fought with Annabeth, he had grown to not mind the presences of the other Avengers as much. Usually, the others tended to flit off whenever he or Annabeth came within a five-metre radius of each other — for good reasons — but Percy often found them in the communal kitchen despite having their own spaces.
He'd come down for coffee, and find Frank and Jason playing on his Xbox — Lego Star Wars was, funnily enough, the god's favourite. Hazel, for unexplained reasons, had created a world in the Sims.
"We are having a team dinner."
Percy glanced up to see Leo standing in the doorway to his lab. Valdez was the only one of his teammates with access to his lab, and that was only on days when he didn't have JARVIS shut down the place.
Looking sideways at the clock, Percy turned back to him. "It's 8."
"Yes, we are having a team dinner," Leo repeated. "Now."
Percy arched an eyebrow. "Will Cap be there?" When Leo nodded, Percy snorted. "Right, and you want us in the same room with sharp knives, why, again?"
"It's good for bonding," Leo insisted. "That was the point of everyone coming to live here. Bonding."
Percy resisted the urge to say that 'team bonding' was a lost cause. Leo was the only person on the team he trusted, and he couldn't even be in the same room as Annabeth.
Reluctantly, and because he knew that Leo wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, Percy followed him up the stairs, warily coming to a stop in front of the kitchen.
The dining table was bustling with Avengers, the table having been set already. To Percy's surprise, a nice smell wafted through the air and made his knees go weak.
"Well, look at that, one of us has enough basic skills to cook," Percy remarked.
"That would be me and Annabeth," Leo replied.
Percy spared the Captain a side glance, to see her carrying over a steaming pot of beef stew to the table. Her expression closed up when their gazes met, and she looked away before he could even say anything.
Fine by him.
"How was everyone's day?" Frank asked, and Percy almost choked on his water.
"You don't get to say that and pretend we're friends over for dinner." Percy snorted. "We killed a scaly eagle yesterday."
Frank shuddered in response. "What even was that?"
"Some kind of freaky hybrid." Leo paused. "That sounded a little hypocritical."
"You're not a hybrid," Jason interjected.
"So I'm freaky?"
Jason went red. "Uh."
"I'm kidding," Leo rolled his eyes. "Relax. I won't Hulk out over a joke." He paused. "Well,
not anymore."
Percy reached over to grab the ladle. "While that was a wonderful way to dispel the palpable tension in here, who wants some beef stew?"
Choruses of "me" erupted from the dinner guests, including Annabeth.
As he grabbed her bowl and started piling meet into it, Percy couldn't help noticing the wariness in her face. What, did she think he was going to throw the pot on her?
Actually, that wasn't completely implausible, but he'd had a good day making improvements on the suit, so Percy was, with all meanings of the phrase, in a good mood.
Dinner was a strange event. Sometimes an awkward silence would settle over them, but someone always broke it. Percy never spoke directly to Annabeth, but he did talk to everyone else at the table.
Success, in his opinion, since the night didn't result in a shouting match. Their other teammates visibly relaxed as the night continued. Apparently, Percy wasn't the only one certain that the night would end in disaster.
After a half-hour meal, Percy decided that he'd done enough bonding for a lifetime and excused himself.
"There's a gala this weekend," Hazel reminded him before he could leave. "The Winter Solstice."
Annabeth's brow furrowed. "What's that?"
"An excuse for S.H.I.E.L.D. to get more investors," Percy said without thinking.
"It's mandatory for all of us to attend," Hazel said, ignoring him.
"You know, 'mandatory' has always been quite flexible for me," Percy mused.
"We'll be there," Annabeth said, also ignoring him, though Percy could tell from her disapproving face that he'd angered the beast again.
Sensing the rising possibly of another argument, Percy really did leave the table this time.
The Winter Solstice occurred on Sunday night, marking the third week since Percy had stopped living alone.
When Jason asked why he had to visit a tailor before every event, Frank had made a cheeky comment about Percy's need to keep up with the tabloids.
Percy rolled his eyes; he'd expected it to come up at some point. He'd just come back from the tailor to see the team coincidentally in the kitchen. Frank and Jason were playing another video game, Leo and Hazel were baking, and Annabeth had stopped for a snack
But, yes, he knew it would probably be mentioned, and honestly, he was surprised it took three whole weeks.
"What is he talking about?" Jason asked curiously, looking between Percy and Frank like they were conspiring about something.
"I have," Percy thought about how to finish the sentence. "A reputation."
"He means that he's had about a billion girlfriends," Hazel elaborated, smirking. "And boyfriends, if the rumours are true."
"Rumours?" Percy repeated with a laugh. "You mean some people actually still believe that I'm straight?" He had been bisexual for as long as he could remember, and even though he'd settled down a lot more, and had a preference for women, Percy had blurred memories from his college days of men and women alike sharing his bed.
"Well, you're not as crazy anymore," Leo said with a shrug.
"Oh, yes," Jason nodded, now knowing what they were talking about. "Reyna talked about you and the Lady Piper."
Percy allowed himself a humorous smile at Jason's formal tone, but he didn't miss Leo's worried gaze.
"We aren't together anymore," he told Jason. "Not for," Percy frowned. "Wow, three months. It doesn't feel that long."
Unable to help it, Percy glanced at Annabeth who had given up trying to look focussed on her food and was now listening to the conversation.
In the back of his mind, Percy wondered what she had thought of him having been with guys. For someone from the 1940s, this new world of openness was probably upsetting.
Percy felt a fiery jolt course down his spine. Well, if she had a problem with it, they'd soon find themselves in another shouting match.
They took a limo to the Winter Solstice as a team. Jason was still in awe of the automobiles, and Percy was glad to tell him that he had constructed the engine used in this one.
The gala was as expected. Cameras flashed, blinding Percy as he pulled on his public face, the smirk with the sunglasses, even at night. When he looked at the rest of his team, he saw their stricken, surprised expressions, and remembered that they weren't as used to this as he was.
For the most part, Hazel was the best at this. She held herself well, flashing a flirty smile at the cameras. Jason was just overall a good person, and was friendly and welcoming to everyone.
Percy spotted Mr D out of the corner of his eye, shooting them death stares that told them they had to make sure they got a lot of money tonight. Percy knew he had more money than ever person in this room, but there was no way in hell he was funding all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s dirty business, although he was starting to consider doing it just to avoid attending events like this.
Just because he was used to it didn't mean he liked doing it. Stuffy benefactors who adored flattery? No thanks.
Percy was good at the whole flirting thing, throwing out compliments throughout the night, telling entertaining stories and laughing whenever it was appropriate. Somewhere around 11, he began to realise that his laugh was starting to sound a bit hollow, and his cheeks ached from the constant smiling.
After managing to duck out from the most monotonous conversation ever, Percy slumped over the bar, sipping from a glass. A Shirley Temple for the recovering alcoholic.
The bartender shot him a smile, and Percy knew she was pretty, so he flashed a dazzling grin, but it was too much effort to even try, so he turned back to silent drinking.
His gaze darted around the ballroom. It was an event room in some fancy hotel, and Percy recognised some of the usual benefactors.
There was Mrs Hollander, a sleazy widow who spent her late husband's money on remedies to keep her young — which only worked to make her increasingly more terrifying — and extravagant nights like this. Mr Oscar Grant, a 60-something year-old who went through women like a hurricane and abused his power over everyone.
Then Percy's vision narrowed before he could get to anyone else, because Tiberius Stone was standing in the ballroom, unsettlingly close to Annabeth.
Tiberius Stone was the CEO of Viastone and owned several newspapers — Percy knew this because Ty had printed a lot of bad headlines about him following their break-up.
Yeah, Ty had been his on-off boyfriend during college, and it took Percy almost two years to recognise the emotional manipulation enough to get the hell out of there.
Annabeth looked like she was growing increasingly more uncomfortable with each passing second. Her feet shuffled back slowly even as she plastered what even Percy could recognise as a falsified smile on her face. Then Ty placed his hand on her waist, making Annabeth flinch, grey eyes flickering anxiously.
Percy waited for her to push him away, to slap him or go all Captain America on his ass. But she didn't do anything, just continued looking petrified and pale.
Percy stared at the pair, struggling with himself. Annabeth was quite possibly one of his least favourite people, but Ty was even worse. No one else deserved to suffer through him.
"Damn it." Percy cursed his conscience under his breath as he took long strides to cross the ballroom, feeling eyes following him as he sidled up beside Annabeth.
"Ty," Percy flashed him the famous smirk. "Always a pleasure."
He felt Annabeth shoot him a sharp what-are-you-doing look that he promptly ignored.
Ty did not look amused. "Percy Jackson," he said coldly.
"Are you bothering my dearest teammate?" Percy asked, plastering an innocent expression across his face.
"Of course, not," Ty said, every word charged with venom. "We were having a wonderful chat before you showed up."
Percy cocked his head to the side. "Actually, I think Annabeth would say otherwise."
"I think," Ty said self-importantly. "That we should leave this choice up to her." He offered out his arm.
Percy met met Annabeth's eyes for a fleeting moment. He had never noticed how grey they were before.
I'm trying to help you, you daft idiot, he thought.
Without moving, Annabeth finally spoke, "I think I'll head off with a Percy, if you don't mind." She tore her gaze away, and Percy dropped his eyes back to Ty, who looked like he was about to hit him.
Percy offered out an arm mockingly, which he felt Annabeth take very reluctantly. He led her out of the ballroom, feeling everyone's eyes on them, including the surprise of his own teammates.
Once they were out of earshot, Percy pressed the button for the lift, retracting his arm.
There were a few beats of silence.
"I like that there's someone you hate more than me," Percy offered.
There was a soft "ding" as the lift arrived, and Percy gestured for her to step in first. He hadn't actually expected Annabeth oblige, begrudgingly holding the door open for him as he followed her inside.
Annabeth pursed her lips. "It's a close call."
The elevator ride was taken in silence, and Percy only spoke again once the doors opened. "Ty's a dick. Most of the people in that ballroom are anyway. And to think that S.H.I.E.L.D. ended up using the Avengers to flirt with potential investors."
He stepped out of the lift onto the open roof, slowly inhaling the fresh air.
"Stop that."
Percy turned his head slightly to see Annabeth exit the lift, face crinkled into that angry expression that she seemed to permanently wear.
"Stop what?" Percy regretted the question almost instantly. Oh, God, this was going to be another very public screaming match, wasn't it?
Annabeth waved her hands around in an uninterpretable gesture.
"Thank you for that amazingly detailed explanation—"
"It's like you treat everything as a joke!" Annabeth exploded furiously. "You don't take anything seriously! The point of the gala is to procure money — now, it's not my favourite part of the job, but if getting money means that we can save people's lives, then it's something I'm willing to deal with!"
"Yes, it's important to get investment, but you don't have to compromise yourself for it!" Percy snapped. "If you never say 'no', people will just take what they want. You didn't stop Ty, even though I knew you wanted to beat him up."
"It's part of the job," Annabeth said curtly. "Which you treat like a joke. You have everything you could ever possibly want, but there are others out there, who we swore to help, who you are depriving of—"
"Do you know what it was like to grow up with Howard as a father?"
Annabeth's words died on her lips as she shot him an irritated look. "What?"
"I know you worship my dad like he hung the moon," Percy said harshly. "But he was a terrible father. He never told me loved me — hell, never even told me he liked me."
"I use humour as a defence mechanism because of him," Percy said shortly. "Maybe if you stopped being so goddamn self-righteous you'd see that I do take things seriously."
"So you act like you don't care about anything?" Annabeth demanded. "Not your friends? Not your team?"
Percy shot her a withering glare. "I do care about them. All you need to do is look a little closer, and you'll be able to tell when I'm lying and when I'm telling the truth."
Because when you care about people, then your enemies know how to hit you where it hurts, Percy didn't say. He'd gone through this with Octavian — his father's right-hand man who had frozen him in place and torn the arc reactor from his chest, leaving him to die.
"You're right."
Percy blinked. It took him a few seconds to realise that Annabeth was speaking.
She wouldn't look at him, instead gazing out at the Manhattan skyline. "I did want to beat him up."
<<< >>>
The fourth week brought Percy a lot of pain, because his teammates just wouldn't leave him alone.
First it was Frank, asking Percy if he wanted to play Grand Theft Auto. Percy agreed that time, and it had been fun for a while, but then he retreated back into his lab.
After that it was Jason asking him to join him in picking up more pop tarts. Percy went reluctantly — only because the god threatened to place the hammer on his chest and never let him up.
Then it was Leo, asking Percy to help cook dinner, and Percy drew the line there. For God's sake, he was trying to focus on his work. Which resulted in Percy's blackout order.
Every time one of his teammates came knocking, Percy barred them immediately, telling JARVIS to lock them out, despite the AI's insistence that he eat and spend some time out.
After a day of keeping people out, Percy became pleased with himself for being able to stay alone. AC/DC blasted from the speakers as he rolled around on his desk chair, fixing up Dum-E's malfunctioning arm.
He slept on the couch, knowing that if he left the lab, someone would ambush him. He just needed some time to be alone, especially with half a dozen other superheroes roaming the halls 24/7.
Hell, Percy hadn't been alone in four weeks. He deserved this.
"So this is where you've been."
Percy almost thought he imagined the voice — which was weird, because hallucinations tended to kick in only after over 60 hours of staying awake — but then he threw a glance over is shoulder and did a double take when he saw Annabeth standing there.
She was wearing a grey exercise top with leggings — did this woman own any normal clothes at all? — and had clearly just come from the gym. Her hair was in a ponytail, literally the only way Percy had ever seen her wear her messy blonde curls, and she hugged a plastic bag of containers to her chest.
"Screw you, JARVIS," Percy muttered under his breath. Of course, he'd banned all his other teammates from the lab, but Annabeth had never visited before, so he'd never specifically told JARVIS to keep her out. That little bastard should've been programmed with less sass.
"You're never in the sun," Annabeth continued before waiting for him to reply. "I'm starting to think you're a vampire."
There was no anger or intense disdain in her voice. Percy was starting to wonder if this was a dream.
Percy arched an eyebrow "Vampires? So I guess you've been catching up on pop culture?"
Annabeth didn't stop eyeing the place like something was about to jump out at her. "Frank made me read this book about sparkling vampires. It's...confusing."
Percy stared right back at her. "What are you doing here?" he finally said.
"You haven't been up in days," Annabeth wrinkled her nose. "Which I just realised means you haven't showered in days. And that's more than a little off-putting. If you were a dame—" She seemed to catch herself and stopped abruptly.
Percy couldn't help the snort. "'Dame'?" he repeated. Annabeth had done a good job of adjusting to the 21st century since coming out fo the ice, but some things never change.
"Accident," Annabeth muttered with a roll of her eyes as she held out the food. "And you have to eat."
"Why?" Percy asked, just to wind her up.
To his dismay, Annabeth saw right through him and placed her free hand on her hip. "It's movie night," she voiced, and Percy had to shake his head several times to comprehend what she was saying.
"Movie night?" he repeated incredulously.
"If you hadn't noticed, the rest of us are trying to make an effort," Annabeth said shortly.
Ah, there it was. Percy prepared for her to lose her temper and start shouting at him, but she simply continued to look at him.
"You're not fun when you're calm."
"Well, the others are trying to catch me up on pop culture—"
"Catch you up?" Percy laughed. "The Norse god, the Russian spy, the scientist who's lived more in India than in America for the last year, and Frank? They aren't going to be any help."
"I'm sick of not understanding when people make references."
Percy felt her gaze bore into his head, and he refused to meet it. Of course, he'd been one of those people. Something close to guilt pooled in his chest; Annabeth probably didn't like to be reminded that she wasn't from this time every second of every day.
Percy swivelled his chair back so he was facing his desk. "I'll be there," he said finally. "You need someone who knows what they're doing to teach you about this stuff."
In the reflection of the screen, Percy saw the Annabeth's lips pull up into a small, satisfied smile.
It shocked him still even as Annabeth disappeared up the stairs. After she was gone, Percy turned around to see the food she'd left on the square glass table.
Percy realised then that he'd never seen Annabeth smile. In the eight months that he'd known her, he had never seen her smile. It was nice, Percy decided. Made her look more human and less like a demon.
After about half an hour of internally debating whether or not Annabeth had poisoned the food, Percy eventually went over to the table and started eating it.
To his surprise, it was Thai food. How the hell had she known that he liked Thai food?
"JARVIS," Percy was saying before he even realised what he was doing. "Did Cap ask you about what to bring me?"
"I don't know, sir," JARVIS answered. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"
Percy rolled his eyes. "I'll reprogram you," he threatened as he opened up the box to see mango sticky rice, and grinned to himself.
"Sure, sir."
Around 9 o'clock, Percy stumbled up warily to see the rest of the team already assembled in the living room. Hazel and Frank were on the couch, and something Percy had noticed over the month was that Frank was incapable of sitting like a normal person.
Tonight was no different, and the archer had his legs thrown over the arm of the sofa, as he twisted in a way that should've been impossible to look at the screen. Hazel leaned against his back, her feet propped up on the coffee table.
Annabeth sat on Hazel's right, wearing a large hoodie with pyjama pants that Percy recognised as Hazel's. Their close proximity surprised Percy; when the hell had they become friends?
If there was anyone less likely than Percy and Annabeth getting along, Percy would've pegged the two of them for it. Well, maybe this was one of the rare times that he was wrong.
"What," he declared as he claimed the vacant armchair. "Are we watching?"
"We're still deciding," Frank informed him.
"I say we watch Titanic," Leo suggested. "It's a pop culture staple."
"What? We need some horror!" Frank insisted. "The Shining!"
"The only reason you don't want to watch Titanic is because you cry every time," Hazel said airily, and the rest burst into laughter as Frank reddened.
"Okay, no horror movies," Annabeth announced. "I do plan to sleep tonight."
Percy bit back a comment about her running for 6 out of 8 hours every night.
"Star Wars," he said at last, and was met by a chorus of groans.
"Geek!" Frank accused.
Percy's jaw dropped. "Star Wars is the basis of pop culture!" he said dramatically, shooting to his feet. "Not one person alive doesn't know—" He cut himself off abruptly.
"Oh my God," Leo realised at the same time.
"What?" Annabeth turned her head from side to side bewilderedly.
"We are in the presence of the last unspoiled adult in America," Percy said slowly as he scrambled to grab the Star Wars DVDs from the cabinet.
"Should I be not be confused?" he heard Annabeth ask Hazel, who stifled a laugh.
"What is this war of stars?" Jason asked, frowning as the screen flashed a couple times before displaying said movie.
"You'll love it," Percy assured them. "It's my favourite movie of all time. Unbeatable."
They ended up having a Star Wars marathon — the original trilogy, of course, without any of that prequel crap, because those were a crime against humanity, and no, Percy wasn't taking any constructive criticism.
Somewhere between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Annabeth voiced, "You guys do know that 'Vader' in German is 'father', right?"
Percy offered some choice swear words in response to that, which Annabeth replied with a roll of her eyes.
"It's the most obvious thing ever," she protested as the text for Return of the Jedi started rolling.
Towards the end of the movie, Percy sleepily raised his head to look around the room. Jason was snoring unabashedly from his place on the other armchair, head thrown back rather unattractively.
Frank, who was also fast asleep, had somehow shuffled to now lay upside down, his legs hanging over the back of the couch as his head lolled neared the rug. Hazel had her head on his shoulder, eyelids drooping as she fought to remain awake.
Annabeth was wedged between Hazel and Leo, the assassin's legs on her lap as Leo slumped in his seat, eyes closed peacefully. Percy was surprised to see how comfortable she was, especially since she was the only one amongst them who was wide awake.
Her eyes were large and glued to the screen. Percy could see Yoda's reflection in her pupils.
Percy looked around the room. It had taken five weeks and half of them to be asleep, but it seemed like they'd finally found a way to be around each other.
<<< >>>
The fifth week of living with the others in the Avengers Tower wasn't as agonising, Percy found.
After a lot of persuasion, Percy reluctantly lifted the black-out over his workshop. Of course, that also meant the begrudging acceptance of his teammates coming down to bother him.
To Percy's surprise, none of them did. This only prompted him to resurface on Tuesday afternoon, wondering if the world had flipped upside down.
He was surprised to see Leo and Annabeth cooking together. The kitchen was silent except for the sound of steaming pots and pans.
"Percy!" Leo spread his arms when he saw the billionaire walk in. "We're trying to make Chinese food based on Frank's recipes. Want to try some?"
Percy squinted to see the soup that was clear as the sky on a sunny day. "I don't know whether you've poisoned it."
Something flashed in Annabeth's eyes. "Why don't you try it?" It took Percy a second to realise that she was joking. Joking.
That was a word that didn't go with Captain America. Whenever someone said the name, Percy had very vivid memories of Annabeth being stoic enough to pass as a rock.
"Okay, this is hopeless," Leo said, throwing his arms in the air. "If there is one thing I can't do, it's cook Chinese food." He turned to them, saying casually, "Want to grab lunch at that shawarma place?"
Percy blinked. "I-Yeah, okay." It took all the energy he could muster not to look over at Annabeth.
"Sure," came her flippant answer, though there was an undercurrent of uncertainty.
Lunch with Leo and Annabeth was not how Percy had expected to spend his day, but Jason was back in New Mexico to visit his friends, and the Duo From Hell were off on another S.H.I.E.L.D. mission.
Leo was entertaining, making relaxed conversation as he ate, while Percy and Annabeth remained quiet. Percy wasn't really in that chatty of a mood today — was he ever? — and he didn't want to risk anything that would make him fight with Annabeth.
Around two o'clock, their phones went off with simultaneous chimes and Percy groaned out loud. "Damn," he muttered under his breath, already knowing what they were up for. Percy peered over at Annabeth, who was reading off her screen with a mildly irritated expression.
"They think they've found the sceptre," Annabeth sighed, setting her phone down.
"It's their problem, they should deal with it," Percy said, rolling his eyes. "Any chance you guys would be up for just ignoring it?" A pointed look from Annabeth told him all he needed to know.
So they drove back to the Tower, Percy pressing into the gas rather generously as Leo clung on for dear life. Percy was surprised by Annabeth being unfazed by the speed of the drive. In fact, she almost looked like she was enjoying, an adrenaline-induced hint of a smile on her face.
"...calling Thor, but he hasn't responded yet," Percy caught the end of Annabeth's sentence as he flew in, landed beside his two teammates with a metallic clanking.
His faceplate flipped up. "What about Twiddle-Dee and Twiddle-Dum?"
"Uncontactable," Leo said, looking laughable in his Spandex trousers. It was the only material Percy found that could survive his Hulk transformations. Unfortunately, they still hadn't found any shirts that worked for Leo, so his way of suiting up was pretty much just stripping down to his pants.
"Does it not bother anyone else that they're always on these secret, dodgy-sounding missions?" Percy said to no one in particular. He felt a jolt of satisfaction when he saw Annabeth roll her eyes. "I'm starting to think they're part of the mafia."
They boarded the Quinjet, and Percy had long become familiar with the plane. JARVIS piloted the plane — a compromise he'd coerced Mr D into — so the three Avengers could mill about, planning their strategy and trying to figure out this would work.
The number of missions they took on as a team had increased, and Percy had to admit that Mr D had been right in that aspect. It was much easier to Assemble when they were all in one place.
As the landscape outside changed, Percy began to miss the approaching April spring in New York as the unending winter of Alaska came into view.
"Why can't they ever hide the sceptre in the Bahamas?" Percy mused, interrupting Annabeth mid-sentence.
"Yes," Annabeth didn't bother to look up at him. "So inconvenient." The Captain's sarcasm always caught Percy off guard because he didn't expect the American Dream to have such a cutting sense of humour.
From the coordinates S.H.I.E.L.D. had provided, Percy figured they were in one of Alaska's uninhabited areas. Temperatures dropped way below zero, and ice stretched for miles with no end in sight.
Percy didn't know what to expect — he'd never been to Alaska before — but based on what he'd seen so far, Alaska was basically just the Arctic but American.
A snowstorm pummelled ice shards into the Quinjet's windows, and Percy was just so looking forward to going out into that. Well, at least he had his suit. He felt kind of bad for the Captain, who had a Tundra-appropriate version of her suit, but was bound to still feel the chill.
Percy allowed himself a moment to mentally thank his past self for installing the heaters in his suit. JARVIS would keep him toasty warm for the duration of this mission.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. jets will give us back-up from above, but our mission is to storm the compound itself. The sceptre should be inside, but prepare to encounter a defensive force of maybe 20 people," Annabeth summarised. Percy's faceplate flipped down as he nodded and Leo slipped his shirt off with a wary look.
None of them were looking forward to this.
The Quinjet's door opened with a hissing sound, and the cold breeze filtered inside. Percy didn't feel it, but he did see Leo shiver and his visor fogged up.
"Initiate de-fogging protocol," Percy said to JARVIS, powering up his boots as he erupted out of there, flying off in an explosion of yellow sparks.
"Thermal imaging, JARVIS," Percy said as he squinted to see far. "And night vision. I can't see a damn thing in here."
As the visor's settings shifted, Percy could make out the compound about 200 metres away. Annabeth had mostly been right; there were 17 heat signatures, some underground.
"Do you recognise the usual radiation signature of Thalia's sceptre?" Percy asked.
"No, sir. But there is the possibility that A.I.M. is simply covering it up."
Percy sighed exasperatedly under his breath. He was nearing the building now, gauntlets at the ready as he prepared to enter the place.
The Hulk's roars echoed behind him as he galloped along, Annabeth on his shoulder.
100m.
80m.
The sound of a bomb going off caught Percy's attention, and he came to a screeching halt as four missiles were fired into the air by the compound's cannons.
Percy sword under his breath, swerving to avoid the first missile. Spinning around mid-air, Percy blasted another one into oblivion before it could hit his teammates.
"Fall back!" came Annabeth's order. "Iron Man, you need to take out the cannons before any of us can even get close."
"Copy that." Percy shot forward, streaking through the air more quickly than the missions as the compound loomed before him.
50m.
20m.
Bringing his right gauntlet forward, Percy swooped over the first cannon, a large ray setting of a chain reaction as the heavy artillery exploded, killing the A.I.M. employee manning it.
"Deploy flares," Percy instructed. "Target the—"
"Sir, begind you." JARVIS pulled up the rear camera and Percy gritted his teeth as he saw the two ballistic missiles chasing him.
Numbers rambled through Percy's brain. "Shut off power to the thrusters!" he almost yelled, the artillery inches away as the momentum carried him backwards.
Percy clenched in on himself as he whisked past the missiles. "Now, JARVIS!" The thrusters powered up again, and Percy quickly stabilised himself with the gauntlets before he blew up the two missiles from behind.
The flares from his suit had done their job; the cannons were destroyed. JARVIS did a rapid scan, and Percy declared to the team, "All clear."
"Nice job. Going in now." Percy glanced down to see Annabeth slide nimbly off Leo's shoulder and start sprinting. He would never not be in awe by the super serum's effects; the Captain could sprint for miles without even breaking a sweat, and Annabeth's figure making its way to the compound was evidence of that.
Percy landed on the roof of the building, cracking the floor with his boots as he blasted away the three armed soldiers who'd come to fight him.
Big mistake, Percy thought to himself as his firepower knocked them off the roof.
Looking at the stairwell, Percy reluctantly peeled himself out of the armour. The suit gave him a certain type of control that he craved, and taking it off was always an unwelcome relinquishing of that control.
The suit reassembled itself beside him as a metallic bodyguard, and Percy quickly hurried down the bannister.
"JARVIS!" Percy said in alarm when he came face to face with a massive man, whose arms rippled with muscles to rival Thor's. As Percy raised his hands, the suit mimicked his movements and fired off two powerful beams that knocked the man off his feet.
"...Man, Iron Man, come in."
Percy readjusted his earpiece. "I'm here," he replied. "On the top floor. I'll start sweeping from the top."
"Okay, I'm on the ground floor. Hulk's taking care of the underground. I've got Agent La Rue on supervision."
"Meet you in the middle," Percy finished, and when he received an agreeable noise from Annabeth, he set off to search the place.
"JARVIS," Percy voiced as he turned on one of the computers. "Can you get through their firewall?" Technically he could do it himself, but the sceptre was more important. Them the A.I.M. stuff was mostly for his own private curiosity.
"That will take approximately ten minutes, sir," JARVIS replied.
"Okay, use a thumb drive to import your systems onto the computer. Move all the stuff over to my private servers."
"Not S.H.I.E.L.D.'s, sir?" JARVIS sais amusedly.
Percy rolled his eyes, gaze roaming the room. No sceptre in sight. "Get your scanners looking for the sceptre's signature. That might make it easier to find."
As the suit plugged in a device containing JARVIS' program into the computer, Percy took the stairs down.
The next two floors didn't have anything, and the suit came back to join him by the third. As was planned, Percy entered the middle level to see Annabeth already completing her futile search.
Evidence of a struggle were the five men lying unconscious on the ground.
"Well, that was pointless," Percy grumbled.
"We shut down an A.I.M. cell." But Annabeth didn't sound any less disgruntled than him. Her helmet lay abandoned on the table along with the glasses meant to shield her eyes from the snowstorm.
"Captain! Iron Man!" a voice crackled through.
Percy's brow furrowed. It was Leo's voice — as in, Valdez, not the Hulk.
"The self-district protocol's been set off downstairs, you have to get out of there."
Percy swore under his breath, holding out his arms as the suit attached itself back onto him.
"How long?" Annabeth demanded, face creased anxiously.
"30 seconds."
The faceplate came down, and Percy turned to see Annabeth already peering out the window to find an escape route.
"JARVIS—"
"On it, sir." A red path traced itself out on the map, showing the shortest route they would have to take to get a safe distance away from the compound. The landing site would have to be on the sea ice surrounding them.
"Cap, I hope you like flying," was the only warning Percy gave before his armoured right arm circled Annabeth's waist and the thrusters shot them out of the already shattered window.
To her credit, Annabeth only yelped when they took off, hands tightening around his gauntlet as they entered the snowstorm.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rocked the background, leaving Percy's ears ringing. Flames licked at his boots as he whisked them out of there just in time.
"Cap," Percy said once they were at a safe distance and he started the landing sequence. "You're kind of crushing me."
Alarms blared on his visor as Annabeth released his gauntlet. Her cheeks were red, whether from the whipping winds or embarrassment, Percy couldn't tell. Her helmet and glasses had been lost in the explosion, and she shielded her eyes with her free hand as they came to a stop on the ice.
Percy checked his armour for injury — the worst damage had been done by the Capsicle herself — as Annabeth rattled off their coordinates to S.H.I.E.L.D., who were sending a transport to pick them up.
His gaze drifted back to the destroyed compound, squinting as the visor zoomed in on the explosions. "It's not stopping," Percy noted as Annabeth finished her S.O.S. call.
"Shit," he cursed, raising his hands and blasting away a piece of debris that some hurtling their way. JARVIS must've calculated their route without taking the debris into account.
Percy didn't catch the other piece of rubble in time, and the concrete smashed into the ice a few yards away, releasing a spray of seawater into the air.
Alarm bells went off in Percy's head as cracks started to rapidly sprint across the ice until the cobweb of it reached their feet.
Percy saw Annabeth's eyes widen a split second before the ice under her feet gave way and she slipped into the subzero water below.
"Cap!" Percy's thrusters saved him from the same fate just in time, and he find himself hovering over a sea of floating ice and water. "Cap!" he called frantically, whipping his head around wildly.
Annabeth had disappeared from sight, and Percy forced himself to suppress the panic and work out the direction of the current.
"Thermal imaging, JARVIS," Percy said hurriedly as he zoomed due South-West, eyes scanning the landscape.
His heart leaped into his throat, the blood rushing in his ears almost blocking out JARVIS' voice completely.
A heat signature appeared on the screen, much farther away than Percy had expected. His brain lagged behind his actions, making calculations as Percy sped up, trying to find the optimum spot for him to crack into the ice.
A blinking red circle narrowed in on the spot on his visor, and Percy dove into the ice, splintering the thin layers as he plunged into the freezing waters.