Heroes of New York

TWELVE - SHOP

Chapter Twelve

~Percy Jackson~

Okay, so the bees thing was kind of freaky. We were only lucky that I could feel the bees moving around in the tin, but not being able to hear their loud and angry buzzing was weird. Like, I'd obviously seen magic at work before, but it reminded me too much that I had recently seen a different illusion at play - the one hiding Hawkguy's hearing aids. Something bigger was at play here.

But I didn't have the time to think about it. I was currently in Stark's workshop helping him put the final touches on his Iron Man suit.

Now, I was no Hephaestus kid (and Leo would have loved this place), but I knew enough about mechanics from helping Paul with the car and the mandatory classes in the camp forges to know that the chest piece probably shouldn't be sparking like that.

I shouted over the blasting Led Zeppelin.

"I think it's the little red wire doing that, not the green one."

"What?!" Stark yelled.

"The red wire!"

He nodded and started working on it.

"How long til that sample's done, Stark?" I asked, as there was a pause in between songs.

"Another hour or so, most likely. We're still working on developing better magic-identifying tech." He finished patching the wire and the suit stopped sparking.

"Sir, I do believe Ms. Potts is trying to get in." We looked at the time and winced. We'd been in here for four hours already.

"Let her in, J." Stark replied.

The doors opened to reveal Pepper, in a grey pantsuit and another set of killer high heels.

"Tony, it's been hours, what have I said about spending so much time in the lab? And dragging Percy down here, too?" She marched over and snatched the pliers out of Stark's hand. "It's time for you to get out of the lab, and for me to take Percy shopping."

"What? Shopping?" I looked at her, wide-eyed. "No, that's fine, you don't need to do that!"

"Nope, come on, we're going to get stuff for your room and to get you some new clothes - no buts!"

I sighed dramatically and sent a look at Tony, who was pointedly looking at the ceiling.

"Traitor," I hissed as Pepper pulled me away, a fond smile on her face.

☤ ☤ ☤ ☤

Thankfully, Pepper had us go shopping in a regular car instead of the limo driven by their chauffeur, Harold "Happy" Hogan. We stopped in various places for bedding and a desk, along with some accessories and decorations for my room. There were lots of throw pillows and 'bed skirts' and things I didn't really think I needed (or know existed) that Pepper insisted upon. She got the bigger stuff sent back to the tower, while we put the stuff we could carry in the boot of the car.

"Are we done now?" I asked as we got back in the vehicle.

"Not even close, Percy," Pepper smiled at me from the driver's seat.

I groaned but didn't protest as she drove off, heading toward Fifth Avenue (a section of shops I had never been able to afford and had only ever walked past to get to the skate shop in Rockefeller Center).

After parking, she towed me along the street, going from shop to shop, buying casual clothes and formal-ish wear, and everything in between - both for me and for her. I managed to wheedle her taste down a bit to get me some of the less expensive clothes, but I wasn't going to complain about the leather jacket or the comfortable boots. As much as my salary from SHIELD paid me, I would never have been able to splurge like this.

Then, Pepper seemed to decide it was time to get serious and brought me to a niche little tailor shop to get me a suit.

"You'll need it," she said before I could even breathe a complaint. "You're expected to attend at least one of Tony's parties while you're staying with us. Got to look sharp for the press or they'll close in on you."

And, well, I really didn't want to be the focus of the media again - ever (especially since they'd probably find out about my 'record').

The suit ended up being really nice, making me feel sort of like 007, even though the pins were still in the fabric to be hemmed and fixed accordingly.

I wished my mom could see me.

☤ ☤ ☤ ☤

We were finally back at the tower by dinnertime, having picked up a few other things like bookshelves and paint at the local hardware store - Pepper would let me paint the room myself as long as I didn't make a mess of it. I insisted on making dinner, as a thanks to Pepper for paying for all of that, and she thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to properly meet some of the other residents. I hadn't told her that I'd already met the archer guy, but she clearly knew I'd already met Stark, so I was curious who else might be here.

I ended up making moussaka, a Greek dish that I had learned to make at camp, with some ingredients Pepper and I had gotten on the way back. I also put together a salad, potato wedges (just from the freezer) and tzatziki with pita (it sounds like a lot when it's listed all out, but I wasn't sure how many people would be there, and I had no doubt the metabolism of a superhero could closely match that of a demigod).

"J, can you call everyone for dinner? It's just about ready," I said as I moved the food into serving dishes and untied the Hawkeye™ apron from around my waist.

JARVIS notified me that people were beginning to come down for dinner, and I got down a stack of plates and some cutlery.

The first to enter the common area were Pepper and Stark, coming from the workshop. Pepper started setting the table and getting drinks while Stark attempted to pilfer food from the entrées.

The next in was the Hawk-guy, whose name I still had yet to remember (you'd think I would, having read their files a million times). He came in through the vents, tumbling from the ceiling and onto the couch with a soft whoomph.

I leaned over the counter and whispered to Stark, "You should reinforce the vents. Especially over the gym." He looked at me and frowned, then his eyes widened as they fell on the arrow dude. Stark began muttering to himself about equations and the density of metals, so I left him to contemplate and put the main dishes on the dining table.

Just as I was beginning to think this would be everyone, the elevator ding'd again and someone I hadn't met walked out.

Of course, I knew who he was - he was one of the world's most renowned scientists, Peter and Annabeth never shut up about Dr. Bruce Banner.

They were gonna be so jealous.

Y'all I'm so so so so sorry for the major delay, I had a massive case of writer's block and exam stress was not helping. Here is your chapter, a whole month late, my apologies for those to whom I mentioned being done in early January. 

On the bright side however, the story seems ready to get moving again! The next chapter will feature our dear Bruce and his interactions with Percy, and the chapter after that will be full of plotplotplot!!

Thank you all so much for your encouragement over the past month, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Happy early Capitalist Holiday! <3