(Book 1) The Runaway (A Percy Jackson and The Avengers Crossover) *Complete*

Epilogue: Your Guardian Angel

Tony Stark has been called a lot of things in life. Family Material is not one of those. But ever since he adopted his nephew and gave him a home, well part of him felt...full.

The kid had his mother's smile and attitude, and he lived on the streets for a long time and developed habits that might be frowned upon. But he couldn't blame the kid so he didn't really care.

He loved talking machines and cars all night if they wanted (before Pepper would kick them out of the lab).

So when Percy got kidnapped, in better terms, he freaked out. He ordered Jarvis to watch all the cameras in the world for Percy, to catch any sight of the kid he loved.

Yes he said it, the great Tony Stark loves his little nephew.

He wasn't the only one freaking out, Clint and Natasha would be gone weeks at times trying to follow leads that just didn't seem to pan out.

Bruce seemed to have to meditate more often and when he wasn't, he was helping Tony keep his mind occupied by working on his cars or just talking science.

Thor would look amoung other worlds on the off chance that someone from there would take Percy. Steve would track down Hydra or any other enemy leads for any sort of news.

It was because of this that they learned that Hydra did indeed take him, from other gossip, they learned it was because they have been experimenting on something and they needed a special child to work it on.

It seemed that child was Percy, it made Tony angry, angry at Hydra and any of their enemies. Yet he still had an image to uphold so, his anger stewed.

It stewed until that anger turned to desperation, to countless late nights in the lab, to drinking, to finally just sorrow.

The sorrow reached him the fourth month Percy had been gone, he was a bit tipsy and in anger threw the bottle against the wall where it shattered into pieces.

His heart felt heavy remembering when Percy mentioned to him that he was afraid of any sort of alcohol, so he cleaned the mess up.

He cleaned it up and couldn't help but clean out his growing alcohol collection, not drinking it no, just...throwing it away.

When it was done, he sank to the floor and cried. Cried for the first time. It was then that Jarvis alerted him that someone had come to see him.

Steeling himself and acting like nothing happened, he washed his face and put a mint in his breath before alerting Jarvis to let the stranger up.

The stranger just happened to be one Mark Nelson, he still looked pale but looked healthy, "Can I help you?" Tony asked feeling confused at what he was doing here.

"I just thought you should know, you have a great nephew." he said making Tony pause in shock, his mouth opening and closing.

"How do you know Percy." he asked in a fast pace sentence, hope blooming in his chest.

Mark just smiled and asked if they could sit down, Tony greedily agreed and soaked in the story. Mark telling him about Percy trying to get him to leave before another man would come into the room.

Trying to warn him before it was too late, he talked about how Percy made sure he didn't bleed to death. How he stayed with him until he passed out, even then he remembered hearing the child saying he was sorry, how he woke in the hospital and the staff telling him he was lucky to be alive.

That if it wasn't for the sweatshirt still against the wound, Mark would've certainly have died. Tony didn't know what to believe.

He's had people claiming they knew Percy but turned out to be money-hoggers, he didn't believe him until Mark produced a still bloody sweatshirt, more importantly a sea green sweatshirt that Percy always wore since his mother's passing.

It was still in a bag because of the blood, but Tony clutched onto it. Because it meant that Percy was still out there and that Tony himself can't lose hope.

"Thank you Mr.Nelson. Really." Tony said as he shook hands with the man.

"I should be thanking you and your nephew. Honestly." The man said calmly as he was heading out.

From then on Tony made sure he at least kept semi-healthy, it was good enough for the Avengers who had been worried about him (mostly Steve).

So when the day Bucky Barnes came to their place everything seemed to click into place. Bucky Barnes was captured by Hydra long, long ago.

It would be natural if Percy and Bucky met along the way in Hydra, and from what Bucky says he can remember, they were partners, Percy never doing anything that illegal other than computer work.

Tony was proud, proud of his nephew he just wished he would come home. Hoped that he would come home.

But when he went out to the street to try and find him, all he found was a cabby who gave him Percy other most treasured items, the necklace his mother made for him.

Only...something was different. Instead of there being five clay balls, there were five clay balls and one wooden one.

On that wooden one was just a simple drawing. Harder on a rounded surface, but on it without a doubt was Iron Man blasting off into the sky.

"Thank you." Tony said to the cabby and then paid the man for the driving and the shot-out back window.

Walking inside feeling a some hope flutter out he almost walked into Bucky Barnes.

"You're Tony right? Tony Stark?" he asked a bit awkward.

"That's me?" Tony responded a bit confused at what Barnes could want.

"Percy told me to give this to you, and not let anyone else but you see the message." he said handing him a Iron Man baseball cap.

"Thank you." Tony replied before taking it up to his lab where he told Jarvis to not let anyone in.

Carefully looking around the hat he found a small note...

Dear Uncle Tony,
              I know that you're sad that I'm not there. I will be eventually, I just need time. Hydra's done some things that I just need to figure out.
   Love Your Nephew,
          Percy Jackson.