Family Ties (Percy Jackson and the Avengers)

Chapter 1

It's October, nearly Halloween already and preparations and costumes are almost complete. Percy and Alicia decided back in September that they would be going to Tony's party together before going their seperate ways. Alicia's friend Dante is also throwing a party and the camp decided to have their own as well.

Percy sits next to Alicia on the couch in his apartement. It's the twenty-ninth and the city is quieter than usual. She leans into him and he has one arm around her shoulders, playing with her hair. He blinks tiredly as she flips through the channels trying to find a show they both enjoy.  After a short time she settles on a house renovation show, because an Tv serie would be too far in for Percy to get what's happening and the gods know he has no end of questions when he doesn't understand something.

Over the last few weeks, Percy's grumpy mood has fizzled out though his humor is still somewhat mellow compared to what is was before the war. He shifts underneath her until his head can rest comforably on her blond halo. He refrains from commenting on the odd shape of one the guys' bald head. It will only spark a debate about if he was dropped on his head as a baby and Percy is enjoying the quiet right now.

They sit like that for another twenty minutes before Percy's ADHD gets the best of him. He doesn't understand how Alicia can sit still the way she does. He sits up and yawns. "I can't believe tomorrow's Monday already. I'm so not ready to go back to school."

"School's stupid. Let's just quit." Alicia says, stretching as she rights herself beside him.

He shakes his head, a smile pulling at his lips. "My mom will kill me."

As they realize what he just said, a heavy silence drapes itself over their shoulders, mercilessly sombering the light mood. It still pains him every time he walks into the kitchen in the morning that she's not there making breakfast. In English class he's moody and withdrawal every time he looks up at the new teacher, who recently received permanent placement at Paul's old job.

"Any new leads?" Al whispers without looking up at him.

He shakes his head numbly. They haven't really talked about it, but she understands that the search has been a hard one with absolutely no results. At least not with what they intend to find. A few monster bases have been taken out and a few new demigods found, but nothing more.

She settles back into the cushion. "I just can't help thinking about something you told me before."

"Oh?" He asks, looking at her in confusion.

"You were telling me about someone you saw in the pit," Percy flinches slightly but Alicia continues. "You said you were sure he was one of the ones who got out, but then he never turned up, not even a mention of him. "

Percy's eyes widen as realization hits him like an out of control freight train. "You mean-"

"I mean that I think he got out just as you originally thought and he didn't appreciate the death-by-statue you gave him." Alicia's eyes darken as she speaks. She has only seen a little of the Greek world since she found out about it's existence, but from the stories alone she has quite the grasp on the danger of the one she's speaking of. "I think it might be possible that Polybotes might have kidnapped your parents."

His breath hitches in his throat and his body is completely still. The thought that what his girlfriend is saying might be true terrifies him. Polybotes no doubt hates him for just being his father's son, but on top of that Percy killed him in New Rome with the help of the statue god Terminus. It had to have been extremely crippling to the giant's ego and that means certain revenge on Percy with the anti-Poseidon's return.

Alicia sighs and pulls him in. She runs her fingers through his hair and takes a deep breath. When she speaks her voice is nearly the gentlest he's ever heard it. "Perce. We'll find them. They'll be okay. I promise. He won't hurt them for risk of killing them. They're mortal and he sees them as if they were as breakable as glass. I know that's not necessarily reassuring, but he needs them alive so he can taunt you, He won't hurt them for risk of accidentally shattering them They'll be a little shaken up I'm sure, but from what you've told me they're strong. They'll be okay." 

At her soothing motions he begins to calm down. He relaxes in her grip his mind already coming up with plans. He'll have to look up information on Polybotes again. He needs to try to find where he took them, somewhere Poseidon can't reach. Not only that but he'll have to keep it on the down low. He can't have anyone else getting involved and getting hurt. The two lives on the line are two too many.

Slowly he pulls away from Alicia and looks her in the eyes. Her blue orbs look back at him as if knowing exactly what he's thinking, yet they are soft and reasuring. He knows that she will want to help and that he'll probably have to let her. 

But he doesn't want to. She means so much to him and he can't bear to put her in danger. 

"Al...."he starts.

She puts a finger to his lips and stands. "I don't want to hear it. Tomorrow we're going to skip school and I will help you research and then we can plot out all the different ways you can kill this guy. You being the gentle person you are will be merciful despite all our hard work researching torture. Only then will we decide together what to do next."

He grimaces. This is going to be difficult. "You should probably go to school. You need it."

"I could say the same to you." She leans in until her breath tickles his ear. "But it doesn't really change anything does it?"

Then she's gone, slipping down the hallway towards the guest room that she uses whenever she stays over. He's sure that Tony knows that she's over most nights, but Percy's lucky he hasn't teased him about it yet. Sometimes his uncle can be extremely embarrassing.

He stands up, his eyes wondering over to Paul's pile of books on the corner of the coffee table. He clenches his fist. He will find them. He will and when he does Polybotes is going to wish he never climbed out of Tartarus and met the second demigod to be names Perseus. 

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I know it's short, but I also know you guys wanted a chapter. So here it is. It's kind of the like the setup for what going to happen it the story. 

So ... Polybotes.... did you see that coming?

I, as always, want to know what you think so comment. Then vote if you want more chapters and follow if you want to keep updated and you like my writing.

~Halie <3