So, it's been a while. Like, years? I am so so so sorry for the unannounced hiatus... but I cannot promise it won't happen again. Life is unpredictable and it sucks major ass. But for now, enjoy the chapter.

Thanks for sticking with me- I really appreciate it.

Steve

To say I was a little surprised was an understatement, to say the least. This kid was, well, a kid. At least sixteen.

His head was down so I could only see his mop of raven hair. He was wearing a dark blue long sleeved shirt with black jeans and sneakers. I frowned as he started to fidget under our stares. He reached into his pocket and I narrowed my eyes as he pulled something out.

A pen.

He began playing with the pen as he tried to avoid eye contact with anyone. His hands were pale, with long fingers and calluses. No doubt he could wield a weapon of some sort. With his head down, it was hard to tell how tall he was, but he looked to be six feet.

"Percy?"

The kid looked up, and I almost wished he hadn't.

His eyes were so dark. At one point they were probably as bright as the sun, but they were now a dull, murky green. Behind them I could see fear. Fear and regret. The eyes of a soldier on a battlefield. His cheeks were hollow and his lips were chapped and scabbed in some places like he bit them too much.

"Yes, Father?"

He was quiet, too, and very timid when he spoke.

Poseidon frowned at the name he was called. "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

Percy tensed. "Do I have to give all my... Titles?"

"Not if you don't want to."

Percy sighed and looked down at the pen again before observing us. When his eyes passed over me, I felt a small shiver go through my spine. I'm sure my team felt the same thing.

He held out his hand to me. "I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

He gave a small smile which I returned. "Steve Rogers, or Captain America."

He winced. "Forgive me for this, but I've never heard of the Avengers. Which one are you?"

I had to admit, I was a little shocked. A teen that has never heard of the Avengers before?

"The one with the shield. Decked out in red, white, and blue."

Percy gave a small laugh. "Should've been obvious, huh? Sorry about that."

I shook my head. "That's alright."

"Yeah, not really, Cap. No offense, Percy."

I gave Tony a glare and he raised a mocking eyebrow. Percy blushed but smiled.

"And you might be?"

Tony grinned. "Tony Stark: genius, billionaire, not so much of a playboy anymore, philanthropist. Otherwise known as the Invincible Iron Man."

Percy tilted his head. "Are you the one that flies around in a flashy suit with flashy beams of energy?"

Tony nodded, satisfied. "So, you know about me?"

The teen shrugged. "You're the only one who's outfit gives me a headache, but you're personality seems to do that on its own."

Poseidon laughed. I couldn't help but chuckle as Tony gaped at Percy. Sam and Pietro were laughing as well, Clint and Natasha were struggling to hide smiles, and Wanda did her best to cover up her giggles. Rhodey seemed a little confused but had a glint in his eyes that said he liked this kid.

Tony suddenly seemed to snap out his trance and pouted, glaring at Sam and Pietro. Thor stepped forward with a large smile and held out his hand to Percy. Percy looked a little wary as he raised his own hand.

"It is an honor, young Perseus, to finally meet you." Thor nodded towards the teen. "Asgard has heard many stories about you. You are a true legend to all."

Percy blushed and hesitantly took Thor's arm. He winced as Thor applied pressure to his forearm and my eyebrows knit together.

Was he hurt?

I glanced at Poseidon who had a neutral look on his face as Percy gingerly pulled away from Thor.

"Thank you, but I wouldn't call myself a legend to anyone." Percy shrugged before looking away from us.

Thor chuckled. "The stories also speak of your modesty."

The black haired teen sighed and turned to his father. "How does Asgard know about me and how much do they know about me?"

Poseidon gave a sheepish grin. "Hermes enjoys his gossiping as much as Aphrodite-"

"Hey!" Hermes glared at the sea god.

"-and as to how much, well... They don't know the end results of your most recent battle."

"And just how recent is that?" Natasha had a suspicious gleam in her eyes.

Percy flinched at the question and Athena put her hand on his shoulder. "Two weeks and three days ago."

"What!" Tony shrieked. "What battle? There was nothing going on here! What do you mean two weeks?"

"True that there was nothing going on in New York City, but there were incidents in California, Long Island, Alaska, Greece, and as well as those, there were..." Athena glanced at Percy. "Disturbances in areas of the godly world. There wasn't anything too noticeable for the mortal eye to see other than earthquakes, fallen glaciers, and storms."

"All focused around said areas, yes?" Clint asked.

Hermes nodded. "Naturally."

Above us, thunder sounded as if the sky warned us of an upcoming storm. Poseidon, Hermes, and Athena took a look at the sky and glared.

Percy licked his lips anxiously. "You have to go, don't you? But I thought the other Olympians were coming."

Poseidon gave a small smile. "You know Zeus too well, son. As for the others, the gods are very busy. I'm sure something came up that had to be taken care of."

"Well, actions do speak louder than words."

Another roll of thunder sounded much louder than the first and Poseidon grinned.

"Don't push your luck, Percy."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I think you're a little late for that."

I frowned as there seemed to be a lot more behind that statement then let on.

The god of the ocean patted his son's shoulder with a faded smile.

"Don't get into too much trouble."

"I think you should know that trouble practically stalks the kid, Uncle P." Hermes said as he ruffled Percy's hair gently. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Olympus wishes you luck, Percy Jackson," Athena said. "And I know your friends would want the best for you, for I know I wish this, too."

Percy had a sad look in his eyes as Athena spoke, but he nodded his head softly and mumbled out a 'thank you, Lady Athena.'

Poseidon, Hermes, and Athena backed away towards the edge of the balcony as Hermes said, "You might want to avert your eyes for a second."

Percy turned his head away from the gods and I could see a tear threatening to spill out of his eye and I suddenly felt bad for him. His father and family were leaving him with strangers that knew nothing about him except his name. Percy saw me looking at him with what must've been an expression he didn't like because he glared at me and harshly rubbed the tear away.

As soon as I saw a faint glow, I knew I had to turn away. I quickly switched my gaze to the floor behind me as the glow grew blinding and then vanished. When I turned back around, the gods were gone.

There was a moment of silence and I watched as Percy turn back and look at the spot where the gods were. He had a disappointed and forlorn look that quickly disappeared as he turned back to us. A red flush crawled up his neck.

"I hate to ask this of you guys so early into our meeting, but do you, uh, have a bathroom I could use really quickly?"

The question was simple, and I wasn't sure why he seemed so shy to ask, but he appeared to grow smaller the longer we stared at him.

Thankfully, Clint sobered up and smiled. "Right inside. Come on, it's a little cold out here anyways."

The teen shot the archer a grateful look and followed him inside the tower. I looked over my team once and then headed after the two. Clint and Percy had disappeared down the hall. The moment the sound of a door clicked shut echoed down the hall, Natasha spoke first.

"I'm all for helping people out, but I have to ask if this is really authentic. We really shouldn't be accepting literal strangers into the tower like this, and our living quarters at the very least."

"I have to side with Agent Romanoff on this matter," Vision spoke up with his hands held behind his back. "While I did not detect any irregular heartbeats or significant signs of lying, I searched for any background on any of the visitors."

He looked at each of us expectantly.

Tony motioned his hand forward in a 'go on' gesture. "And?"

"There wasn't a single ounce of information on the three 'gods.' However-"

"What do you mean? Did you check SHIELD? HYDRA? Government documents? Grocery store receipts?" Sam took a few steps forward, away from the window.

"Anything and everything accompanied with facial recognition and names." Vision looked down at the floor in defeat. "I found nothing."

"How is that even possible?" Wanda asked. Clint had joined the room again and stood by her and Pietro. "There must be something… they can't just not exist."

"The three gods would disagree with you, but as I was saying, I gathered much more information on the young boy."

Rhodey folded his arms over his chest. "What all is there?"

Vision took a breath and sighed. "He has had a… colorful record. Many schools expelled him for incidents he was involved in and he has caused explosions in some of those schools and monuments, specifically the St. Louis Arch. He has disappeared off the grid only to reappear across the country or across the Atlantic Ocean in different European countries. Also, several cases in which he was spotted reported him having an assortment of weapons from a baseball bat to various firearms. He claims to have been kidnapped when he was only twelve with two companions and has recently disappeared for a total of ten months."

No one spoke. I looked at Natasha and saw her with an alarmed and defensive expression. She saw me looking at her and glanced back at Vision. "And how old is he?"

"I'm sixteen years old, but I'm almost seventeen."

I whipped around with my hands clenched into fists and body in a fighting position. Percy was standing in the doorway, shoulders tense but otherwise unfazed. His eyes were staring with no emotion, but his lips were turned upwards in the slightest way. The edges of his face, his hairline, was damp as if he splashed water on himself.

Natasha drew her gun from an unknown holster and pointed it at the teen. "You want to tell us who you really are, kid?"

Percy winced at the nickname but sighed. "I really wish I had good luck for once."

Pietro stepped towards the assassin with her weapon drawn. "Hold on, Natasha, we need to give him a fair saying. Let him speak."

"I'm not moving my gun if that's what you're implying, Maximoff."

Pietro looked to Clint for assistance. Clint looked conflicted, but then stepped in front of Nat but not in front of her gun.

"You remember how I gave you a chance to speak?"

She scowled. "If this is what you're asking for me to pay you back with then-"

"No, Tasha." He shook his head. "You know I wouldn't do that. I'm asking you to consider he may have been in your shoes or someone else's."

"I assure you, Natasha," Thor began. "Perseus is a hero just as we are and has reasons for his past choices."

Nat looked at him, then lowered the gun.

"He has five minutes without the gun."

Wanda suddenly perked up. "Perseus-"

"Percy, please," the teen said. "My full name makes me feel weird."

Wanda nodded. "Percy, would you be willing to let me read your mind and-"

"No."

Natasha's hand twitched.

Rhodey raised an eyebrow. "'No?'"

Percy shook his head. "I'd rather not risk her seeing anything that doesn't have to do with proof. I have some personal things I would like to keep personal, and I'm sure all of you could understand that. If there was a way to block out certain memories for certain, I'd agree, but seeing as I don't know the extent of your abilities and the fact that these memories are… jarring, I don't want to risk anything."

A moment went by before Bruce nodded in agreement. "Well, that does make sense. Would a physical be better? I could trace your cells and blood for anything we might not recognize."

Percy rubbed at his forearms as if they itched. "What all does the physical involve?"

"We would only do what you are comfortable with, most coming from a standard annual examination, and a few other tests." Bruce adjusted his glasses and gave a soft smile. "Just think of it as a trip to your friendly doctor."

Percy's lips turned up. "Yeah… okay. I have powers, too, so-"

Percy raised a hand and flicked his wrist. Water emerged like a snake from the sink and swirled to make a hand. Percy waved his own hand, and the water copied.

Pietro was the first to say anything as everyone was in a silent shock. "That is so cool. I wish I could do that."

Percy slowly waved his hand in the direction of the sink, and the water was a snake again, slithering into the drain.

The teen looked back at Natasha. "Are we cool?"

Natasha looked at him and slowly slipped the gun into its holster. She smirked. "Sure. For now."

See you in the next chapter. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧