Percy Jackson Avenger and S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent

2021 (3)

Coulson and his new team of agents (we'd been replaced) took me to what appeared to be a hospital for dead-people-that-aren't-actually-dead, judging by the fact that Fury was in the room two doors down from me, having some more shrapnel removed after he'd helped out at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ.

I wasn't too impressed as soon as I was conscious enough to realize what the implications were.

Coulson just smiled in my irritatingly enigmatic fashion. "Did you really think that Fury thought that you were dead anyway? He hasn't been seeking you out, but he's always suspicious when they don't find a body, especially when it's the body of one of his very best. This will just be confirmation for him."

Coulson really needed to stop referring to me as 'one of the very best'; it really felt like he was lying straight to my face (also, I didn't exactly have a good track record for staying in one piece for long, did I?).

"He is going to kill me."

Coulson laughed for real at that, a slightly derisive sound that cut the still air. "You don't know the Director nearly as well as you think if you honestly believe that."

My slightly drug-addled brain faltered. "But there's a shoot-on-sight order on my head that Fury authorized. And once labelled 'rogue', agents tend to have a bad habit of shooting first and not bothering with questions." I raised an eyebrow at Coulson (even that tiny action was painful, but I had to show him how unimpressed I was). "And I've never heard of the Director bending the rules for anybody before, either."

Coulson's eyebrows twitched slightly, which I took to mean that he was amused (you get good at reading him after a while; trust me). "Just because you've never heard of it happening doesn't mean that it has never happened. You of all people should know that."

Okay, so whatever that meant, I wasn't entirely sure. "Still. Shoot-on-sight?"

"Fury is not going to be in a position to shoot you, Agent, even if he wanted to. And he won't start looking for where you're hiding, either. Although he may have a few questions regarding the apparently-impossible happenings that seem to follow you around these days."

Oops. I forced my face to remain neutral as I deadpanned, "I don't know what you're talking about," in a nice and suspicious manner.

Coulson's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Good to see that a few years living on the run hasn't changed you too much, Jackson."

"It doesn't matter, because Fury definitely knows what's causing all of that stuff anyway." I sighed as I recalled how matter-of-factly Jason had dropped the teensy bombshell that S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited directly from Camp Jupiter on me. "And I imagine you do as well."

"Well," Coulson began, leaning back in his chair slightly. "From that fact that you seem to have crossed paths with Jason Grace since making your exit, which, I might add, was quite impressive, slipping the net like that, I'd say that you've got new ties to where he comes from. That might lead me to assume that part of the reason for your flight was manifestation of demigod-ly powers, but what bothers me is that the magnitude and the timescale don't quite match up."

"The more powerful ones display powers at a younger age," I finished for him.

He nodded. "That remains a mystery."

I smiled. "Childhood trauma. You know, the typical explanation."

"The abuse you suffered at the hands of your stepfather caused you to repress your powers without realizing," Coulson filled in. "So when they did manifest, it happened all at once, rather than gradually like you might expect. I suppose that makes sense."