Discussion
Chiron guided Percy and Tony to a lounge room and told them to sit on the couches. Once they were all settled (Chiron was still standing), the centaur went straight to the point.
“Why are you here Percy? As I said, we weren’t expecting you for at least a few months. Did something bad happen out in the mortal world?”
Tony looked between the two at the word mortals. Sure, Thor would refer to the rest of the team as mortals since he’s a demigod. Did this mean that Percy wasn’t fully human?
“My parents were killed.”
That simple sentence seemed to make the room become overwhelmed with shadows. Tony wouldn’t lie if he felt shivers go up his back.
“I’m sorry, Percy. When did you find out?”
“A few hours after I left. The gods called me to get blessed by them. I went home and found them dead. I’m staying with Tony now.”
Chiron nodded. “I hope things get better for you. Especially after losing Annabeth and the others. Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
“Leo is probably still alive.”
Tony was starting to feel a little uncomfortable since Percy and Chiron were having this ongoing talk of death and he certainly didn’t like that.
“How do you know Percy?”
“I had a dream that he was on an island with Calypso. Remember the Physician's Cure? I think he put that in Festus and when their fireball exploded, they were flying through the air and Festus injected Leo with it. The last thing that I saw was Calypso and him getting on Festus and flying off and disappearing in the clouds. And I remember Leo making a navigation device, probably using it to find Ogygia or here. But I don’t know when he’s going to arrive.”
Chiron held up his hand to stop Percy before he could continue rambling.
“That’s interesting indeed. But before we continue, could you inform your uncle what we’re talking about? Although it is slightly amusing to see him confused.”
Tony decided to speak up. “Could I speak to Percy for a second, sir?”
Chiron nodded and Tony dragged Percy away from the room by his elbow, the teen protesting the whole time.
“Percy, shouldn’t we tell the whole team?”
“Uh… why?”
“Because this sounds like a huge deal. I mean, I took you in and I want you to live with me. With us, and I think the others would agree. Maybe not now, but now is probably one of the few times that is best. Also, the others at least need an explanation. I mean, you were screaming in your sleep and ran out. And then this whole thing! But… I’ll leave it to you. I’m presuming that this was kept secret for a reason.”
Percy seemed hesitant. “Shouldn’t we ask Chiron?
Tony sighed. “I guess.”
They walked back to the waiting centaur. “Probably go farther next time. I could hear you, if just barely. Who are these other people.”
Tony kept into the first battle of the Avengers, adding their backstories here and there. When Tony said that Thor was the god of thunder, he swore he could hear thunder in the distance on this clear summer day and the other two looked at each other with some kind of uncertainty. He finally reached the end of the story.
“So… could we trust these people to not report us? Who knows what might happen to us. We could be talking about the death of all demigods.”
“I’m sure of it.”
~~~~~
About an hour later, the rest of the Avengers stood on the outside of the camp border, all looking very confused as to why they were there. The two assassins were looking around and observing the treeline. Thor was looking around in excitement and Percy suspected why.
“Uh… why are we here?” Bruce asked.
“Percy here has something important to show all of us. It partially explains why he ran off.”
Percy rubbed the back of his neck in slight embarrassment. “Follow me please.”
They hiked through the trees and reached the camp border. All of them, except Tony, Thor, and Percy, saw a strawberry field in front of them.
“Is your summer camp a strawberry field?”
“Oh, no. Sorry. Um… I, Perseus Jackson, two time hero of Olympus, and other titles, invite the Avengers into Camp Half-Blood.”
“You didn’t say that when you dragged me in!”
“You were protesting about that and didn’t hear me.”
He walked forward and the rest followed, Clint joking that the teen dragged the millionaire. Once they saw the camp, their jaws dropped in it’s beauty and the things they saw. Tony was looking around and observing the more finer details of the buildings they passed. They reached the Big House where Chiron was waiting for them.
“So these are the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. We are pleased to have you here. My name is Chiron, the director of the camp.”
Steve stepped forward. “Excuse me sir, but what is this exactly?” He didn’t seem fazed that Chiron was in his centaur form.
“If you would step inside and take a seat in the lounge room. Percy and I will explain everything.”
Soon they were all seated or standing in the room waiting for the two to start the story. Percy and Chiron started from the beginning about the Greek gods existing, how children of the Big Three started WW2, and so on. Percy skipped most parts of his time in Tartarus. When they got to the fight with Gaea when Percy stopped talking. Chiron realized the big mistake he made.
“Percy. Do you need to step out? I can finish the story.”
“No. It’s fine.”
They continued retelling the last battle and the Avengers noticed that the director kept on looking at Percy with gradually growing concern but they didn’t mention it. When they got to the parts of the rest of the sevens deaths, Percy had to stop repeatedly to try and keep his leader role up for the adults in the room. But they could tell that it was getting to be too much for him.
“Annabeth and I were fighting back to back and one monster had a knife dipped in poison. I had an opening that I didn’t notice but she did. She moved herself in front of the blade and took the hit intended for me. I killed the monster but it was too late. She was already dying. I held her in my arms for her last moments. Annabeth… she told me, ‘I love you, please find someone to love, don’t mourn for long... please. I love you…’”
He stopped talking and put his head in his hands, quiet sobs coming from him. Tony went over to Percy and wrapped his nephew in a hug. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Tony pulled away and sat near Percy. Chiron continued and told them how Percy and Leo both managed to put an end to Gaea, how Leo and Festus were never found after the explosion, and the funeral. Percy then picked up the story to when he was blessed by the gods, which Chiron didn’t know.
“What did the gods bless you with, Percy?”
“A lot of things. A little bit of their powers each. Apollo even gifted me better skills in archery.”
He and the centaur gave small chuckles at this. The team looked slightly confused while Clint looked excited that Percy knew archery.
Steve asked, “I know that Apollo is the god of archery, but why is this slightly funny? Is this a 21st century thing I’m not getting?”
“No it’s just that I am, or was, super bad at archery.”
“How so?” Clint asked.
“The one time I hit a target wasn’t the one I was aiming at. It was behind me.”
Clint sputtered in disbelief and was rambling on how he did that and that no one could be that bad at archery. The rest were chuckling at his reaction. Chiron clapped his hands together.
“How about a tour?”