A Game of Gods and Grit (PJO/MCU Crossover)

Chapter Nine

When Peter entered the penthouse of Avengers Tower at 6pm, Mr Stark gave him a hug. Nobody was there apart from the billionaire himself, who was smiling excitedly.

"I'm not early, am I?" Peter asked, looking around at the empty room. He wracked his brain. Mr Stark had asked him to be there at six, hadn't he?

"Oh, you are. By an hour. See, the reason I asked you to come so early is so you could get to know a new member of the team. He's about your age, and, if I'm being honest, he could really use a friend," Tony explained. "His name is-"

Just then, a door a few feet away flung open and a young man about Peter's age stormed in. He had tanned skin and black hair, complete with bright, sea-green eyes alive with anger and intensity. He immediately walked to the bar, filling a glass generously with alcohol. He took a long swig of it. The man wore a black suit with one of the sleeves pulled up to reveal a strange-looking tattoo, which Peter squinted at to get a better look. The dude looked angry- like, really angry.

"Well, speak of the devil," Mr Stark said softly, before turning around to speak to him. "Percy, I don't think you're legal-" The young man- Percy- laughed humourlessly, downing the drink and leaving the glass at the bar as he walked towards Mr Stark.

"I am never following your advice again."

Mr Stark's face dropped, "it didn't go well, did it?"

"What? Oh, no, it went swell. In fact, we're getting married next week!" A smile so fake it would've baffled a reality TV show producer spread across Percy's face. He was being sarcastic.

"Kid, I'm sorry-"

Percy had noticed Peter observing the conversation and calmed down slightly. However, his brightly coloured eyes scanned over Peter cautiously before speaking, almost as if he was a robot in a sci fi movie scanning for danger. "Gods, talk about awful first impressions," he stuck out a hand. "I'm Percy."

"Peter Parker," Peter shook Percy's hand, then something clicked in his head. He furrowed his eyebrows to look at Percy. He knew those brightly coloured eyes from somewhere. "Holy shit," his eyes widened. "Percy, as in Percy Jackson?"

"Uh, yeah?" Percy's muscles tensed in fear.

"As in the kid who dumped Mrs Phillips' class into the Marine World Shark Pool?"

Percy paused for a second, his muscles relaxing, before busting into fits of laughter. "Oh, my gods, yeah. That was me!"

"Oh, my uncle Ben is going to freak-" Peter stopped himself, his stomach sinking slightly. He stopped smiling. "He was, uh... he chaperoned that field trip. I was in Mr Smith's class, you see, third grade. We ended up getting sidetracked from my class at the wrong time and..." he smiled again, making a splashing sound with his mouth. Percy smiled, too, somehow able to tell that Peter's uncle wasn't alive anymore. "Man, he was so mad."

Mr Stark patted Peter's back supportively. Then the billionaire spoke. "Peter's about your age, Percy, I thought it'd be nice to actually speak to someone other than a bunch of guys over the age of thirty," then he looked at Peter. "Thought it'd be good for you, too, sport."

"I can't believe you remember the Marine World trip," Percy shook his head with a smile. "Usually, people who know me by my full name want to kill me."

"Hey, me too!" Peter nodded in relation to Percy's statement.

"I've been trying to get Peter on the Avengers for a year now. He keeps saying no," Tony explained. Percy's jaw dropped.

"He gets a choice?"

Peter's jaw also dropped in horror before he turned to Mr Stark. "He didn't? God, you're not going to force me, are you?"