The Old Jackson Twins Book 2

Chapter Three

"No!"

"Percy-"

"I'm not going with the Avengers!"

"Perc-"

"Finals are coming up, I've got an assload of homework, and I'm sworn off quests-"

"PERCY!" Aria yelled, exasperated. "I'm not telling you to!"

He paused. "Wait, you're not?"

She shrugged. "I think you should, but I'll go first. I'll tell you what they want."

"Don't. Who knows what they'll want?"

"Well, that's pretty much my life now. Doing dumb things for a living."

"Yeah, but... I've got a bad feeling about this."

Aria considered it. They wouldn't be able to IM much longer if she and Reyna wanted to get out of there quickly. The Avengers might still be hanging around. "Percy, I've got to go. See you at Christmas." She swept her hand through the rainbow before Percy could say anything.

Reyna finished packing up the tent and stuffed it in her backpack. Most of their personal belongings were magically compacted into the tent, but they both carried a first aid kit, an IM kit, some paper money, and one or two small personal items. "Aria? You ready?

Aria put away the prism and flashlight. "Yeah."

Reyna leaned against Zeus's Fist, studying her. "Are you going after them?"

"I don't have to," Aria pointed out. "It's not like they'll be able to find us unless we let them."

"Are you sure you want to spend your life running from the Avengers?" Reyna asked quietly.

Aria didn't answer.

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"They're looking for you," said Annabeth from the doorway. She didn't need to specify who she meant.

Percy closed his notebook and sighed. "Should I go find them?"

Annabeth hugged him from behind while he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm not here to tell you what to do, Seaweed Brain. Even if that is part of my job description. But I think you should. We can't risk them finding New Rome."

"They can't do that. It's crazy well hidden."

"They're the Avengers, Percy. They saved a floating city and snapped back half of the universe." The gods had gotten the message about what Thanos had been planning, and shielded their children from the effects of the Blip.

Percy closed his eyes and leaned back against Annabeth. "Gods," he groaned. "This is the exact thing I was hoping to avoid."

She kissed his hair. "I know, Seaweed Brain."

"I'll go." He didn't give himself time for doubt. "Come with me, Wise Girl?"

She took his hand. "That was a given."

"A what?"

"Gods, Percy, how the Hades did you pass high school geometry?"

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"Maybe he'll find us?" Peter asked optimistically.

Natasha took a sip of her coffee. Though they didn't realize it, the three Avengers sat at the exact table at the exact cafe Jason, Piper, Leo and Hedge had sat at two years ago after Aphrodite transported them to California. "The odds of that happening are very slim, Peter. We don't even know what he's capable of."

Tony started to say something, but he was cut off by another voice. "Why don't you find out?"

The Avengers turned to see two college-age teens. The boy was tall and muscled, with messy black hair, sea green eyes, and a pissed off expression. The girl was blonde, with grey eyes, a messy ponytail, and a similarly pissed off expression.

"You must be Percy," Natasha said, taking a sip of her coffee. "Peter, you should have bet money."

"Are you Aria?" Tony asked the girl.

She scoffed. "Do I look like his sister? I'm Annabeth Chase, his girlfriend."

"Let's go down to the beach," Percy decided. "We'll have more privacy."

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Peter wasn't quite sure how the crowded beach was supposed to be more private. He stuffed the rest of his muffin in his mouth, watching Percy survey the crowds.

"Over by the dock," Annabeth instructed.

"Alright, get in the ocean," Percy ordered. "Quickly, while nobody's looking."

"Um, no," Tony said coldly.

Percy rolled his eyes. "I said get in. If you don't, I'll turn around and head back to school right now, and you won't find me again."

Peter shrugged. Crumbs still falling from his lips, he was the first to step forward. With a start, he realized the water wasn't soaking his jeans like it should have. Tony, Natasha, Annabeth, and Percy followed, and then a current swept them under. With a start, Peter realized he could still breathe. What the hell?

"So," Percy started once they'd reached a smooth area of sand. He and Annabeth sat down, leaning into each other comfortably. It would have been a touching picture if there wasn't the weirdness of being 100 feet underwater. "Gods, sit down." The water forced Tony, Natasha, and Peter into sitting positions. "You won't drown, don't worry. So who's after my sister?"

"Falcon, Winter Soldier, Captain America, and Scarlet Witch," Peter answered when it became clear Tony and Natasha had no plans to speak.

Annabeth laughed. "Winter Soldier? Oh, she's going to enjoy that." Peter didn't get it, but clearly it was an inside joke. "So why the hell do you need my boyfriend and his sister?"

"They're on SHIELD's watch list, and now they've gone missing." Tony pulled a folder out of his jacket. "Here's Percy's file."

Percy and Annabeth started reading the first page, then burst out laughing. "You don't know anything about me!" Percy crowed. "Look at this. Father: unknown! Summer residence: unknown! Location November-June last year: unknown!"

"Okay, that last one is fair," Annabeth reasoned. "Nobody knew."

"Okay, who's your father?" Natasha demanded, her face dusted with pink.

"Poseidon. The god of the seas."

Tony scoffed. "Yeah, right. And I'm the son of Zeus."

"Zeus actually has a daughter. Thalia. She's great," Annabeth said with a secretive smile. "I, myself, am the daughter of Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. I like to think of her as Ares, but with brain cells."

"And during the summers, we live at Camp Half-Blood, a safe space for kids like us," Percy finished.

"Okay, say all of that again, but so it makes sense," Peter said, confused.

And one long, confusing explanation later, the Avengers sort of understood.

"Okay, so where's Aria?" Tony demanded.

"Good question. I pretty much never know," Percy admitted. "She and a friend of ours, Reyna, travel around the country fighting monsters and rescuing lost half-bloods, stuff like that. There's pretty much no way to find them, especially if they don't want to be found."

"You must have a way to contact them, right?" Peter begged. Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other. They did that a lot, like they couldn't take their eyes off each other.

"Maybe," Annabeth allowed. "We'll see. Meet us at that cafe where we found you at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning."

"Now wait a minute," Tony started, but currents grabbed the three of them. The last thing Peter saw before he broke the surface was Percy grinning up at them, then turning to kiss Annabeth.