It was going to take a few weeks for his transfer papers to be all organised or whatever it was, so Percy was pretty much out of school. He liked that though. Wasn't so much a fan of the having to be tutored at the Avengers Tower. Okay, so Art with Steve wasn't so bad, the guy was really encouraging about any sign of talent and just let him use the time to doodle away his frustrations. Something about 'art therapy' or whatever it actually was. He wasn't paying attention. Yeah, yeah, he knew he should and he did try, but more often that not he just found that everyone's conversations went at like 100 miles per hour and he was lagging behind at maybe half that speed if he was lucky. So just getting to sit and doodle, with Steve talking to him about different missions he went on with the Howling Commandos, it was pretty kind of cool.

Science with Tony had him ready to punch something, until Bruce came in and just very carefully stepped between the two and lead Percy away and did this whole KLA thing on him. (What he Knew, what he should be Learning, and what he should hope to Achieve. Apparently just 'passing' was good enough for Bruce). From there, it got a little easier, and Tony did let Percy help him mess around on the cars which was pretty cool. Minor disaster with a pegasus landing on Paul's car aside, he kind of liked the whole driving thing. He and Rachel had talked about doing the whole tourist Route 66 thing with Annabeth next summer.

Then there was his training with Thor. That was... Well, he was getting used to smelling a bit like burnt toast. Least he hadn't actually caught fire. Apart from that one time. It didn't hurt. Much. He was only a bit singed. They didn't tell his Mom, she would have probably had Thor whimpering in the corner. Clint and Tasha were always on missions, it seemed, which was pretty sucky. The bit of time he got to hang with them was cool though, 'cause Tasha was just... Well, she was just cool personified. In a totally terrifying please don't leave me alone with her and make sure I never accidentally make her angry her off way. Still, the whole tutor thing was alright, meant his got his afternoons mostly free as long as he did some work.

So he often wandered along to Annabeth's school and waited for her to get out. They were allowed some free time in the afternoon after classes, and it was always fun to see the nervous look on her teacher's faces. Even when he was dressed in something tidy, they eyed him like he was going to set the place on fire. That wasn't his style. Now, if they thought he was going to flood it, well, then they might have a solid reason for the whole nerves thing. Annabeth would just roll her eyes at this, and smack him upside the head, before pushing him back in the direction of the Tower most days. Sometimes they just went and hung out at a local coffee shop; he stuck mostly to the carbonated drinks, while Wise Girl seemed to be developing a bit of a thing for skinny lattes.

Then one day they were attacked on their way back to the Tower.

They didn't even need to glance at each other, they just immediately sprang into the whole defensive mode, before switching to offensive. Percy was kind of surprised when he realised that they weren't actually fighting monsters, though. They were fighting mortals. Mortals who knew how to use every part of their body as a weapon, which – by the way – some of those kicks? Ow! They dressed in all black which was such a cliché even the monsters rolled their eyes at it. Even some of the demigods with more of a dark outlook on life would be calling them cartoon cutouts. Also, all in black, in bright daylight, in the middle of a busy street in New York. Yeah, real inconspicuous. Totally not going to draw any attention at all.

He was on first name terms now, with Officer O'Brian. His wife had a flower shop, and his daughter had just joined a dancing class and wanted a puppy for Christmas. Tom wasn't a bad guy, really, at least he gave Percy a chance to argue his case. And – even though it annoyed her so much that Percy could feel himself burning under her glare – he did go along with the story that Annabeth was just using self-defense. Which was technically true for both of them, but he was the one with the record.

Seriously, why hadn't Chiron just taught him how to manipulate the Mist again? This was the second time in only a couple of weeks. His Mom was going to be so annoyed at him. Thor was the one who came to pick him up this time. Apparently all the Avengers were listed on his contact list. That must be so much fun for the officers in charge of getting his parent and or guardian.

"Young demigod, come, we leave this place with our heads held high. Your honour has been restored!"

Someone really needed to teach Thor about the concept of an indoor voice.