Chapter 14
Percy
"So, guys, I know we're not on the best terms but we must start training."
"Hm?" Came Clint's reply from his spot in the couch.
"We must start training so pick your asses and head to the gym." Everyone looked at him weirdly. He started wondering why were them all there in the first place, weren't they heroes? Shouldn't they be helping people in the streets? Or why didn't they, at least, look for him? On their eyes he was a terrorist that couldn't leave without permission, yet he left and no one looked for him.
"Why should we train? We have received orders from someone with even more power than Fury to stay here for like a month. We can't even go out, so why?" Tony asked. Well, there was the reason he was looking for.
"I told you! Those are more reasons to train, not to not train," Steve replied with annoyance.
"Didn't know you couldn't go out but yeah, Captain's right. We need to train."
Fifteen minutes later, he finally got them all to go to the gym.
"So, I'm sorry if you had something else in mind but I need to lead the training to see how far behind you are."
"How far what?" Tony asked mockingly but still offended.
"Behind. Don't worry, I'll do the exercises too, even if I don't need to, but I need to tell you what to do."
"Alright. Whatever."
"First, 5 laps around the gym."
"5? You do realize that those would be like 50 000 meters, don't you?" Clint asked with an incredulous face. Percy sighed. So they were far behind.
"Then do 2. You have 30 minutes."
They started jogging and when the 30 minutes had passed, the Avengers were still on it. Percy had to admit on their defense that, even if they had slowed down, they had barely ever stopped.
Percy finished the 5 laps in exactly 30 minutes. He could have finished in 25 when he was a mere demigod so he knew that he could do it in much less now as he was an Olympian.
Olympian. The word seemed foreign on himself. He still struggled to wrap his head around the fact that he was an Olympian. Kind of.
Percy saw that his team still had a while before finishing so he headed to the pool on the corner to swim for a while, relax, think and gain more energy. Principally think.
He didn't even take his clothes off; he didn't need to. The water was cold but it wasn't like Percy cared (or felt it, for that matter).
He started thinking about his new condition. He knew he had to try new things so they had an advantage. However, a being with the power of an Olympian 'trying new things' in New York would surely create unwanted chaos and attract the attention of both mortals and demigods. He couldn't let that happen. He resolved he would ask Poseidon for guidance at his palace, he surely had space there.
Next, he tried to accept his new powers and, in a way, identity. He was still Percy Jackson, but he was also Poseidon. If he concentrated hard enough, he could even access his father's memories. Fortunately, that took concentration because if they had invaded his brain all of a sudden then he would no longer be sane. Millennia of memories (and not many pleasant ones) would have killed him.
After a while of thinking, he decided that matter could wait and started to make war plans instead. He shuddered at the thought. He hadn't missed thinking about that.
He made a few relevant decisions and developed some battle strategies on the time the Avengers finished jogging. It took them about an hour and they were dripping sweat. The ones who took it better were Thor, that went slow only to talk while the others jogged, and Steve, which was understandable since he had the super soldier serum.
Percy sat near the edge of the pool while he waited for everyone to catch their breaths. He came out wet do he didn't raise suspicions, but he still dried himself faster than a normal person. It wasn't noticeable though.
He gave them 10 minutes before speaking.
"We'll have to work on that," The man's voice seemed to take them by surprise. When they saw him sitting there relaxing, they seemed taken aback.
"You said you'd do it too!" Tony incriminated him but had to take a big gulp of air afterwards.
"I did. In fact, I did the 5," Percy said calmly. He didn't even give them time to get surprised before he continued speaking. "Now, I'll leave you 5 minutes to sit down and drink some water. After that, I want to spar," he said it as if it was something every average teenager would like to do. The team was too tired to even understand. "Oh, I also need to know exactly how much time it took you."
"46 minutes," Steve said without missing a beat. Percy nodded and directed his gaze towards Natasha.
"Around 58, I'm not sure. And don't even ask the others, you already asked the only two who could have an idea."
"Figured," Percy said and shrugged.
"Maybe Thor could've known if he had really taken it as training. I think he was only doing it to talk with the others," Steve told him.
"Gods," Percy replied rolling his eyes but amused nonetheless. Then he started wondering if he could still say that considering that he technically was a god too. He never said 'humans' as an insult... Maybe he could say that now. He wouldn't do it though. But could he say 'gods'?
He must've zoned out because he suddenly realized that a tired-looking Bruce was waving his hands in front of his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry. ADHD," Percy said as explanation. The group nodded and didn't ask any further. Bruce, however, looked like he would let it pass now but wanted to come back to it later. "Alright, I think you've had enough rest. So, Steve, you'll be in charge of hand-to-hand; Natasha, you'll be in charge of fights with knives; Clint, archery; Thor, sword-fighting; and Stark... You'll get us drinks," Percy winked and then laughed at the indignant noise coming from Tony. "Just joking. You'll teach us strategy with JARVIS' help."
"That's much better. And again, I have to ask how do you know what we're good at. We never showed it to you," Tony was obviously looking for reasons to be suspicious. Percy sighed.
"Mannerisms, such as Natasha discreetly reaching for her thighs when she feels threatened, or the more prominent muscles, such as Clint's shoulders. I don't know, everything and nothing."
"Nice," Steve said while Clint whistled.
"So, are you ready?"
.ψψψ.
The fight between Steve and Percy went relatively well, only after the dark-haired made things clear.
"Don't you dare go easy on me."
"Oh, you're on."
The fight lasted 5 minutes. Steve didn't go easy and Percy only used his mortal strength so it was quite fair. Quite.
Punches flew both ways but few managed to get past each other's defenses. That was until Steve decided to play dirty.
Percy only raised a brow when his chest was hit by Captain America's knee almost brutally. He didn't even care about the slight pain, he got what he wanted: information. The captain of the team wasn't as soft as he appeared to be on a daily basis, he had a 'soldier' mode, which took a burden off Percy's shoulders.
After that, Percy decided the fight wasn't worth continuing. He had what he wanted and they couldn't afford wasting time.
Too fast for the eye to follow, Percy had Steve on the floor with a head lock. The position was strategical: Percy was half on top of Steve, blocking the mobility of legs and arms, and the lock had the exact force on it to only restrain air partially, debilitating the opponent without killing it. All in all, it was so tactical that there was no room left for doubt regarding his experience.
A smirk made its way to his lips before he could hold it back. "Never put your guard down. Specially not after an attack."
.ψψψ.
"So, knives?" Percy asked Natasha.
"Yes, I have mine here," She reached her thighs and took out two sophisticated silver knives. "Go ahead and pick yours." A small smile graced her features. She was enjoying this. The response she got was a short nod, almost absent-minded, as Percy was already eyeing the weapons aligned on the walls. He went past the new and expensive-looking ones and reached the perfect ones, that were the ones with enough use to make them comfortable and gave them a firm grip, but not old enough to make them lose their sharpness and charm.
"These will do," he said while picking two. They weren't anything extravagant, just what he needed to take part of the fight.
"Great choice. I won't even ask how you know to choose knives, I've already resigned." Natasha commented. Percy shrugged.
"I'll tell you everything in a given time. If I told you with no trust it'd be a disaster. So you'll get answers, just not now," he said lightly. He had left that clear before and he didn't feel the need to rush. If he could prevent the truth from reaching them for some more time, he would. He didn't want them dragged into the mythological world before it was needed, and even then, he didn't want to. He was distraught thinking of the way they would too become chess pawns for the gods' use. To think that he was now on the other side of it made him sick.
He came back to reality when he heard Natasha gasp quietly. He had been fighting already without noticing and, apparently, he got a good hit. That wasn't what he looking for.
"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to do that," he apologized.
"Were you even...?" She cut the phrase, there was no need to finish it. She was highly offended when Percy smiled nervously, confirming her suspicions. She lounged again and attacked with everything she got, not even stopping to breathe. She tired herself out quickly and was left vulnerable to her opponent's attacks. Half a minute after her moves became sloppy, she had a knife at her neck and other hanging loosely around her waist. If it wasn't for the knife, it would seem that Percy was hugging her from behind. Of course, it was actually a strategic point so he could prevent her from escaping by kicking him. There was also the fact that his other arm went almost all the way around her neck so she wouldn't be able to move without hurting herself.
"This is one of the first times I have ever seen Natasha been defeated," Tony said, half amused and half worried.
"Yeah," Clint said, not amused at all.
"Quick tip: never give in to emotions during fights. You'll tire and, if you do, you die," Percy said, finally releasing the red-headed. "I'm going to reveal a fact that you'll need to understand why this training is so crucial. There's something big coming, at least a hundred times bigger than anything you've ever seen. There will be no second chances, you'll be just soldiers there, equal to everyone else on the battlefield. No privileges, no higher importance, nothing. If you get hurt, you'll have the same chances as everyone else to get medical attention. That imagining that you manage to kill the other before they kill you. If the situation we were just in had been real, Natasha would be dead. You're no strangers to war based on what you told me. You should know this already. Just know that this time... This time it'll be deadlier. The conditions of the battle won't be on our favor. Our opponents will keep coming endlessly. Our team won't be on the best conditions and they will surely not be of your liking. You'll need to accept this before we go on. Clear?" Everyone looked at him flabbergasted, except for Thor, who nodded solemnly.
Percy suddenly lost his serious expression and smiled easily.
"So, who's next?"