Diverging Timelines

Rating: K+

Summary: Percy Jackson and Peter Parker are both residents of New York. When Peter goes on patrol in Manhattan during the battle, their lives begin to overlap. Superheroes and demigods both reside in the city, and it's only a matter of time until the two boys finally meet. They have more in common than they thought, and once they learn about each other, become fast friends. (Spider-Man HOCO, PJO, Avengers crossover)

Three Months Later…

Peter sighed in relief as the water slowly started receding, as if being called by some force. He quickly finished webbing up the criminal, before his curiosity got the best of him, and he decided to figure out how the water was being controlled. It wasn't the first time he had seen something like this, and his curiosity couldn't hold out any longer.

Settling up high on a balcony of the building, he looked around, startled when he spotted Percy nearby, face set in concentration as he moved his hand, the water following the movements. Peter watched in awe as the water obeyed Percy's command, making its way back to the nearby fountain.

Peter shifted from where he was, freezing when he realized Percy had heard him. There was no point in hiding now, so Peter made himself known.

"Dude, that is cool," Peter called out from his perch, awestruck. "How'd you do that?"

Percy sighed, capping Riptide. He grabbed the hem of his shirt, using the edge to wipe sweat off of his face.

"Come down from there," the demigod responded wearily as he sat down on an upturned crate that survived the fight.

Peter swung down in a blur of red and blue. As he sat next to the older teen, he pulled his mask off after Karen assured him no one else was nearby.

"Are you a superhero, too?" Peter asked, beginning to ramble. "How come we've never heard of you? Or are you new? How'd you get your powers?"

"Woah, calm down, Spidey," Percy held up a hand. "I can only handle on question at a time."

Peter nodded. "Are you a superhero, though?"

"Nope," Percy shook his head. "Though that would be cool," he admitted. "I did want to be a superhero when I was little."

"Then what-" Peter started to ask, fiddling with his mask. "C'mon, you know who I am."

Percy hesitated. "I guess that's true. Alright, but this stays quiet." He continued after Peter nodded, eyes wide. "I'm not a superhero. I'm a demigod."

There was silence as Peter's eyes widened even further. "Like Thor?"

"Not exactly. He's Norse. Actually, my girlfriend's cousin is a Norse demigod, child of Frey. But that's besides the point. I'm Greek. My mom's mortal. She raised me, and for the first twelve years of my life, I didn't know anything about my father. And then everything went to shit, and now, here I am, over five years later."

"Then, who's-"

"Dad's Poseidon, god of the ocean. That's how I could do that. I have control over the water. I have other powers, technically, but I never use them. Been training with a sword since I was twelve."

"Woah," Peter grabbed his head. "Greek gods are really real? And they have kids, just like in the myths? Are all myths real? That would explain something I saw last year…"

"Yeah, the Greek gods are stationed in New York. Manhattan. Actually, Olympus is on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building. Then Norse are in Boston, a couple Egyptian magicians in Brooklyn, and Romans in California."

Peter looked dazed, trying to take in all the information. This changed everything…

"What do you mean, you saw something last year?" Percy asked, cautiously.

"Um, it was shortly after I got my powers. It was mid August, and I was on patrol, and I just kept going. Ended up in Manhattan. Everything was at a standstill. That's the last thing I remember until I woke up the next day. Saw a helicopter with the Dare Enterprise logo on it. Heard a girl was missing, hacked into the camera feed from the time I was sleeping to see if I could find her. I thought I was going crazy, or was just losing that much sleep when I saw what looked like a pegasus. And then a dragon. And the swords and the Empire State Building was blue?"

"Ah," Percy nodded. "Yeah, I can explain that. Rachel is a friend of mine. Clear sighted mortal, and it seems like you are, too if you can see through the Mist. You happened across the city during the battle. Kronos was rising, and we had to stop him. There was a prophecy. We lost a lot of friends that day," Percy's voice gets quiet. "August 18th. So many heroes died. I hate thinking about it. Kinda sucks that's my birthday, huh?" He chuckled, but it sounded forced. "But Rachel. She became our Oracle that day. The pegasus was real. His name is Blackjack. And the dragon guards our camp, guards the tree. That's another story. The building being blue… Zeus did that for me, to let my mom know I was safe, alive, since mortals can't go up.

"Okay, I think I'm following you. Kind of. Wait, what's the mist?"

"The Mist is this force. And no, not like Star Wars. It can twist a mortal's sight from seeing monsters, gods, Titans, and whatever by replacing them with things the mortal mind knows about and can wrap their heads around. Like to others? My sword might just be a bat. They might see monsters as wild animals. But some mortals can see through it. I'm not entirely sure why. Annabeth would be a better person to ask about this."

"I can't believe this," Peter muttered. "So wait. Let's see if I understand this. Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Norse gods all exist. They have children or magicians. There's a magical force that makes sure mortals don't know about these worlds, but some mortals can see this stuff. There was a battle in Manhattan last summer. You're the son of the sea god."

"Yeah… that sums up what I told you pretty well," Percy shrugged. "You're taking this pretty calmly, considering what I just told you. But I guess you've seen your fair share of weird as a superhero."

"Still. It's a lot to take in."

"I get it," Percy nodded sympathetically. "It took me time to fully accept it. Hey, I gotta get home— mom and Paul are going out, so I'm on baby-sitting duty. Take your time digesting this. I'll see you around at some point."

He stood up as Peter asked a question.

"Can I text you about this later? Like, I know we're friends, but I get if all this is something you want to keep a secret or to yourself. I kinda just stumbled into all of this."

"Yeah, it's fine" Percy replied. "It's good I have a phone now, huh? The reason I didn't have one before is because they attract monsters, and since they just want to kill us, demigods don't tend to use phones. But Leo made ones we can use, so yeah, text me. Also, you can text my friend Rachel, if you want, for more information if I'm not free. I IM and text her regularly. And not the kind of IM you're thinking of. I'd explain it to you so I could use it contact you one of these days, but I don't have time right now. Texting is the best."

"Yeah, yeah, that works."

Percy gave Peter Rachel's number, so if he was busy, Rachel could help answer some of Peter's questions. She knew a lot about Percy's adventures, and he trusted her.

"She can answer some of your questions, in case I can't talk. Just tell her you're my friend, and you know. I'll see you later. And honestly, like I've been saying, if you need anything, I'm free."

Percy waved, and then he was gone.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Peter whirled around, already halfway out the window. He was dressed in his suit, mask still in his hand. It had been a few days since he found out who Percy was, and now that that secret was out in the open, the two were able to talk freely about everything. "Um… Manhattan?"

"Uh huh," Tony stood in his doorway, arms crossed. "And why do you need to go to Manhattan at," he checked his watch, "two in the morning?"

"I, um…"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "You do know that I programmed FRIDAY to let me know if you left the compound after one in morning? I promised your aunt May that you would actually get some sleep when you stayed over."

"I did get some sleep! Okay, so it may have only been an hour, but Mr. Stark! I need to go. It's important," Peter pleaded, now standing in his room. "My friend needs me. I promise this isn't just an excuse or something that will happen every night."

"Does Ned, or MJ, or whoever really need to talk that badly?"

"It's not either of them," Peter shook his head. "It's my new friend. Percy. I've told you about him. Well, actually, not he's not exactly a "new" friend since we've known each other for like, a year. But I guess comparatively, at least to Ned, he is a new friend? And I mean, we only became close recently in the past few months, because of everything that's been going on and-"

"Kid, you're rambling," Tony held up a hand. "I get it. I can tell whatever this is about, it's important. Go, but don't tell May I let you out this late. And make sure he doesn't see you in your suit."

"Uh… he already knows about Spider-man?"

Tony sighed heavily. "Kid-"

"We, um, actually help each other out. And it's not like I was going to tell him. He's just really good at sneaking up on people? Like, scarily good. He's helped me out a few times when I've been on patrol, and I've helped him when he does what he does. I promise it's nothing bad! I just can't tell you- I'm actually, technically, not supposed to know. Keep tabs on me with my tracker if you want. Just, please. I need to go."

"Fine, go. But one last thing."

Peter pulled on his mask before answering. "What?"

"What did you say his name was again?"

"Percy. Percy Jackson. Okay, gotta go!" And then he swung out the window, heading towards the city.

"FRIDAY, pull up whatever you can on Percy Jackson," Tony requested as he walked out of Peter's room, heading towards the lab.

He fiddled with the Iron Man suit for awhile, until the AI informed him the information had been gathered.

"Give me his family history."

"Full name: Perseus Jackson, son of Sally Jackson. She is an orphan. Father not listed, but I could run a test on Percy's DNA. His first step-father was a man named Gabe Ugliano. He disappeared about six years ago, and has never been seen since. Sally Jackson sold a sculpture around this time, and used the money to move her and her son to a nicer apartment and return to school. She is currently writing a book in the home she shares with her son and her new husband, Paul Blofis. They have a daughter together, Estelle, who is two months old."

"Schooling?"

"Mr. Jackson has been at a different school every year except the past two. He was expelled from each school, with claims of him causing disasters and seeing things no one else saw. Despite setting Goode high school on fire during orientation, he was still invited to attend. He has trouble with school, since he has both ADHD and dyslexia. However, recently, his grades have improved, as he has had help from a fellow student, Annabeth Chase, his girlfriend. He excels in physical education, and has an interest in marine biology. He is currently seventeen years old, and is in his last year of high school."

"Anything else?"

"Mr. Jackson stopped attending school in mid-October of last year. He was reported missing, but it was retracted in June by his mother, though he did not return home until August. It is unsure where he was during this time, but cameras caught someone looking like him in California, Alaska and Rome, before returning to New York."

Tony sat down, cataloging all the information. Percy's history was all over the place, and it seemed troubling. Sure, he was turning his life around, but the inventor didn't want the lifestyle rubbing off on Peter.

"FRIDAY?"

"Sir?"

"Run the DNA test."

Peter landed quietly on the fire escape outside of Percy's window. He knew his friend was sensitive to loud noises, and while he also didn't like being snuck up on, it was the better choice.

"Percy?"

Percy turned his head. His eyes were blank. He was in a pair of old shorts, his orange camp shirt, going barefoot. His hand was resting on his forearm, thumb running over the tattoo there. His sword was at his side where he could grab it at a moments notice. "Hi," he whispered.

Peter sat down next to him, pulling the mask off. They sat in silence, looking at the sky.

"It's the stars," Percy mumbled. "The Huntress," he gestured.

Peter found the constellation, one of the newer ones discovered and named, only coming to light a few years ago. The stars shined brightly. He looked up at them in silence, letting his friend talk in his own time.

"I was there, y'know, when the constellation was formed. Artemis placed them."

Peter glanced at the demigod, noting his clenched fists and the sadness creeping into his eyes.

"Her name was Zoe. Zoe Nightshade. She was Artemis' lieutenant, led the Hunters for over two thousand years. I've never met a Huntress with a stronger hatred of men," Percy shook his head, chuckling. "That was Hercules' fault. But Zoe. She was this fierce warrior, loyal to Lady Artemis and her fellow hunters until the end. She hated me, distrusted me for most of the quest. I wasn't even supposed to be there, but I had to go. For Annabeth."

Peter nodded as he re-adjusted his legs. Percy had told him about the daughter of Athena, and what had happened to her that winter.

"I was young. About fourteen. Five of us started the quest. Three of us returned." Percy wiped away the tear that had fallen. "We lost both Bianca and Zoe. They both sacrificed themselves, taking lines of the prophecy onto their shoulders. Bianca went first, Zoe last. To be there, hear her last words, see the life leave her body… they were my first two friends to die, and Zoe was the first one I saw die. 'Stars. I can see the stars again, m'lady.' Her last words. To honor her, Artemis put her in the sky. Whenever I need comfort, and no one is around, I look for her. She's always there, watching over us. She came to trust me as much as a Huntress can trust a guy. I proved to her I wasn't like Hercules, gave her the credit she deserved. Did you know that my sword was hers at one point? She gave it to Hercules. He never looked back, left her behind, never gave her credit. But when we got closer, she told me she was glad the sword was in my hands."

"It sounds like she was a great person," Peter said softly.

"She was," Percy nodded, running his fingers over a plant in the nearby pot, its leaves glowing softly. "Those who didn't know her saw her as stuck up. But I'm honored I got to know her. It's just… she's the first one who died, and even though it wasn't directly for me, in the scheme of things, it kind of was. I heard her voice, when I was in Tartarus," he admitted. "Thought of her, too, when yet another friend sacrificed himself for me and Annabeth. 'Tell the sun and stars hello for me.' I did that, looked right up at Zoe when I did. That was one of the hardest quests of my life. Loosing two friends, watching Annabeth fall, unsure if she survived, facing Luke again, afraid Thalia would chose his side. Seeing the pain Thalia and Annabeth carried when it came to the son of Hermes. Holding the weight of the world on my shoulders, literally, even though it was for a short time. Knowing it would only get harder from there."

Peter scooted closer to his friend, letting the older teen lay his head on Peter's shoulder, exhaustion washing over them both.

"Sorry for contacting you so late," Percy mumbled as he closed his eyes. "I just… I need to talk about Zoe, keep her spirit alive. I had a nightmare again, and I just… I need her comfort."

"Dude, it's cool," Peter whispered. "You've helped me before this late. It's only fair I do the same." After a few minutes of silence, Peter broke it. "Still up for the usual tomorrow?" Peter asked, referring to their Friday plans.

"Yeah," Percy nodded. "I'm glad we ran into each other again at Dr. Stirling's. Guess we both needed her help, huh?" Percy asked, sleepily. "It's nice that there's counseling available for powered people."

Peter mumbled his agreement as he rested his head on Percy's. He pulled his phone out, firing off a text to Tony, before the two boys fell asleep, Zoe looking down on them, shining brightly.

"I'm sorry sir, but there is no match to Mr. Jackson's DNA in any database, including those that record DNA from uncovered bones."

"Well, that's just great," Tony groaned, dropping his head onto his arms.

"Actually, while it appears he has a complete set of DNA that is uniquely his, only one parent's DNA, his mother, has been passed on to him. The rest is… confusing."

"What the-" Tony trailed off as he pulled up the results on his tablet. There on the screen was a visual of Percy's DNA. At first glance it appeared normal. However, when he ran a test, the screen blinked blue, indicating that yes, only one parent passed on DNA. "I swear, if this is more aliens or some crap… FRIDAY, pull up what you can on both Sally Jackson and Annabeth Chase. If anything similar comes up, let me know."

After a few more minutes, Tony was even more stumped. Annabeth Chase had no mother listed, and she too, had DNA as different as Percy's. Only DNA from her father had been passed on, though both her half-brothers had DNA from two parents . He continued to run tests on people both Percy and Annabeth were associated with, and many came up with similar results.

It wasn't until he stumbled across a photo of two kids who had been born in the nineteen hundreds, that logically should've been over eighty years old, yet were obviously only teenagers, that he knew he was going to need help.

Grumbling to himself, he sent off a text to Rhodey and Banner, asking them to come to the tower the following morning.

Checking his message, he saw one from Peter.

Spider-Kid: Hey, Mr. Stark. Don't worry about me. I'm gonna stay over at Percy's place. I'll be back at the tower in the morning to get my stuff before school.

Iron-Dad: Thanks for letting me know. But don't think this is going to happen all the time. Happy'll drive you to school in the morning.

Tony sighed. He could tell that Peter was attached to his new friend, and seemed to come back happier after hanging out with him. Maybe this Percy Jackson wasn't all bad.

It was two weeks later that Peter got to see what Percy meant by IM'ing. Peter had been texting Rachel and Percy a lot, as well as doing research on Greek mythology. He had communicated with the son of the sea god and the Oracle, who was pleased to have another friend that was a clear sighted mortal, but yet could understand the hardships that came with being a young warrior, or in Peter's case, superhero.

Peter gaped in awe at what he was seeing.

After talking with the two in their group chat for awhile, it was finally decided that Percy should IM Peter so he could see what they were talking about.

And Percy was right. It was not what he was expecting.

"This is so cool," he breathed, taking in the sight.

Percy had explained to him that demigods used Iris messages to talk to each other. The goddess would connect a demigod to whoever they wanted when they tossed a golden drachma into a rainbow.

"So, actually, even though I have a phone now," Percy continued. "I sometimes like to us Iris messages more. I dunno, they seem more personal, and it's like the demigod version of face timing."

"This is so cool." Peter tilted his head, hearing footsteps coming down the hall. He sighed, hearing voices talking. "I think someone's coming. Seems like it's a mission, so I gotta go."

Percy nodded, saying goodbye before swiping his hand through the message.

"Peter?" There was a knock on the door.

"It's open," he called out.

Tony opened the door, looking confused when he didn't see Peter on his bed. The young hero had spent the night at the compound, and was more often, as he now had a room there.

"Up here," Peter waved from his spot on the ceiling, before dropping down. "Mission?"

"Jeez, kid. What's with you and the ceiling? And yeah, aliens in the city. Suit up."

The mission was going relatively well. They were down to fifteen of the aliens, that looked like bears, but they were purple and orange with horns, slime oozing off of them.

Only a few heroes were at the compound. Things weren't perfect after their most recent battle, and some were still grieving the loss of those who fell in the battle against Thanos.

Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Steve Rogers (name pending) were the ones to answer this call. Things were still rocky between Steve and Tony, but Peter saw it as a step forward that they were working alongside each other, even if the old Captain America was no longer, due to everything that happened. He had a new uniform, this one dark blue and black, rather than the classic patriotic theme.

Peter had been sent to evacuate the nearby parking structure, something he complained about, since he wanted to fight, but listened anyways.

He had gotten everyone out when he heard Steve shouting something, before his new shield, the one without the classic logo, courtesy of T'challa, went flying through the air, hitting an alien.

Peter stared, wide-eyed as he heard the alien hit the ceiling. A second later, the roof of the parking garage Peter had been evacuating began to cave in.

His breath quickened as he tried to quell the rising panic he felt in his stomach. But it was no use.

Peter was back under the building, crushed and alone. He cried out for help, everything aching. The space was too small and all he wanted was a hug from aunt May, to be safe.

Peter? Karen's voice tried to break through. I advise that you attempt to slow your breathing and exit the structure. It is not structurally sound, and is in danger of completely collapsing in the next five minutes.

Peter gasped, trying to cling to the AI's comforting voice, but the dust falling on his face had him collapsing on the floor. His muscles stiffened, ready to feel the concrete crush him yet again.

It never came.

Peter was unsure how much time had passed, but he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder. He flinched away slightly, before opening his eyes to see who it was. He was expecting to see Tony, or one of his other teammates, so it was a surprise to see his friend.

"Percy?"

"Hey," he replied softly, sitting down next to Peter. "Just listen to my voice. You're going to be okay. Take your time. Look up."

Peter did hesitantly, his shoulders relaxing when he could see the blue sky. "How-?" he breathed out, his breaths shaky, but evening out.

"I told you, you're not the only one here with special powers," Percy grinned. "You're lucky I was nearby. I spotted the team, and figured you were around. When I saw you needed help, I stepped in."

"Thanks," Peter responded, shakily sitting up. He remembered now who Percy really was. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that there were Greek gods stationed above the Empire State Building. "How's it going out there?"

"They have it handled," Percy responded, waving his hand. "Annabeth's out there, with a couple of our friends, ready to help if needed. Honestly, they're worried about anyone else finding out about our world, but to help save people, they'll risk it."

"Thanks, man," Peter nodded his head as Percy helped him stand up. His breathing and heart rate were under control, according to Karen.

The familiar sound of thrusters echoed through the remains of the building, and Iron Man touched down. Tony stepped out of the suit, worry etched on his face as he approached Peter.

"Hey, kid. You okay? I got here as quick as I could."

"Uh, yeah, Mr. Stark. I'm okay now. No injuries."

"And who are you?" Tony turned towards Percy, who was looking at his feet, hands stuffed in his sweatshirt pockets.

Percy looked up, and Tony blinked seeing his eyes. They were a color he hadn't seen before, and at just a glance, he could tell this kid had seen things he couldn't even imagine.

"I'm Percy. Percy Jackson."

Tony felt his chest tightening as he saw the parking structure began to crumble. Peter had been evacuating the civilians, getting them all out safely. But now he was alone there, minutes away from being crushed by another building.

He was about to fly over to save the kid when he was thrown backwards, slamming into a building hard enough that his vision blacked out for a minute, the brick wall crumbling under the impact of the suit.

I detect a minor concussion and a sprained wrist on top of all your previous injuries, FRIDAY's voice reported.

"Not now," Tony mumbled, getting to his feet. His main priority was saving Peter. Tony made his way to the edge of the building, ready to go save his protege, when he stopped in his tracks. The rest of his teammates turned, watching in awe.

A wave of water from the nearby pond was shooting up towards the roof of the collapsing building, solidifying slightly. It changed shape, forming a hand that grabbed the pieces of falling concrete, placing them safely back on the ground.

The water then washed up over the nearest group of aliens, swirling them back to the ground as they were bombarded with the concrete, killing all five of them, leaving only ten left alive.

Tony just stared, standing completely still. "FRIDAY? What was that?"

It appears that some unknown person or object nearby has some form of control over water, and used it to help you.

"We should get them to join the team," Tony mumbled under his breath, before shaking his head, trying to clear his mind. "Can you get a read on Peter's vitals?"

It appears that Mr. Parker is suffering from a panic attack, likely due to the similarities of today and when he fought the Vulture.

Tony nodded, before taking off, determined to help Peter through his flashback.

Needless to say, it came as a surprise to come across Peter and a black-haired kid who appeared to be a couple years older sitting together, talking quietly.

It came as an even bigger surprise to find out that this was Percy Jackson.

Tony took in Percy's appearance. He was wearing jeans and beat up converse, a white shirt, and what appeared to be a swim team sweatshirt from his school, sleeves pushed up enough that Tony could see a tattoo peaking out. There was also a necklace with clay beads on it around his neck.

"Percy Jackson. I've heard a lot about you."

Percy raised an eyebrow, fiddling with something in his pocket. "And I've heard about you."

"You're not a normal civilian," Tony blurted out. "I mean," he continued, seeing the look on Percy's face, "you're right in the middle of this war-zone, completely unfazed. You know how to handle panic attacks."

Percy shrugged. "I've seen my fair share in my life. And yeah, a lot of my friends suffer from flashbacks and PTSD, so I know how to help them. I do too," he added on, like it was an after thought, "so I know what helps me best."

"Percy!" a feminine voice called out.

Percy turned towards the voice, eyes softening as he realized who it was. "Yeah, I'll be right there," he called out. "Well, it was nice to meet you. And Peter, let me know if you need me as backup for anything. Later!" He started to run over, easily leaping over the small amount of rubble on the ground. He disappeared around the corner of the building.

"You okay, kid?"

"I'm okay," Peter shrugged. "Percy helped me."

"I see that. I know something's up with him. He just happens to be here when we see a giant hand made of water save your life, and take out a third of the aliens just like that? He suffers from PTSD, and so do his friends, and the way he was talking about it makes it seem like nightmares and panic attacks are nothing new to him. Care to explain anything?"

"Um… he's just… really cool? Like he said, he hasn't had an easy life. He gets what it's like, to balance school and nightmares and stuff."

Tony simply raised an eyebrow in response.

"I know what you're asking, Mr. Stark. But it's not my place to say anything."

Tony sighed, letting the matter drop for the time being. "Let's get you back to the compound."

Later that night, when everyone was asleep, Tony pulled up camera footage from the battle, on the look out for Percy Jackson.

He spotted a group of teenagers in the park across the street, one of them being the boy in question. Tony watched as Percy tensed, before running over to the parking structure, yelling something over his shoulder. The other teens stood up, tense as they watched the fight, like they were ready to help at a moments notice.

Meanwhile, Percy stopped in front of the parking deck, turning towards the pond. He closed his eyes, raising his hand slightly, the water responding to his movements. After the aliens had been killed, Percy immediately entered the building, finding Peter.

Tony had been unsure about Percy Jackson, and still was when it came to the powers he seemed to have. Where had he gotten them? Was it an accident? Was he born with them? He pushed those questions aside, making a decision.

Percy Jackson had saved Peter, and for that, Tony would be forever grateful. Guess he had another kid to look after now.

A/N: So that marks the end of the first installment of this series! i hope you guys enjoyed it, and are looking forward to more of these two boys being friends and learning to heal. I have a few more installments written, but feel free to leave suggestions for me!

~NewtsSuitcase