Demigods Assemble (PJO/MCU)

Chapter 15

Annabeth

Annabeth could almost hear the record scratch in her mind. She said, "We're demigods," and the entire room froze. Not a single person spoke, moved, or even seemed to breathe. Everyone sat in complete silence, letting her words sink in.

"You know, with everything they've encountered, I didn't think they would react like this," Percy noted, drumming his fingers on the table. "But maybe they just don't know what demigods are."

When everyone continued staring silently, Annabeth elaborated. "We're half human and half Greek god. All the myths about Greek gods and heroes and monsters, they're all real. They're all still alive and living in this world, and we're a part of it. My mom is Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and Percy's dad is Poseidon, the god of the seas."

Still, no one said anything for a few more moments. Finally, the man everyone called Fury broke the silence. "Start at the beginning, and don't leave anything out," he ordered.

Annabeth obliged. She began with her childhood, with figuring out who she was and running away from home. She told them about meeting Luke, Thalia, and Grover, and their journey to Camp Half-Blood where they thought they lost Thalia forever. Percy jumped in at that point and explained how he discovered his own heritage and powers and launched into the stories of their many quests with Annabeth chiming in when he forgot something. He recounted their summers and winter breaks from ages twelve on, talking about the quest to find the master bolt, the trip through the Sea of Monsters and Thalia's resurrection, Annabeth's abduction by the manticore and dealings with Atlas, the terrifying navigation of the Labyrinth, and the Battle of Manhattan. Annabeth took over after that to explain Percy's disappearance and everything that happened with Jason, and then Percy explained about his time with the Romans and how the Greek and Roman gods are just different aspects of the same deity, and the two of them took turns talking about their trip across Greece and Italy to stop Gaea. By an unspoken agreement, they mentioned Tartarus very little. Once they finished with Gaea's destruction, they briefly explained Apollo's quest to become a god again and Jason's death, which was very difficult to talk about.

"So that's what had happened when we first ran into you guys on the bridge a week ago," Percy said and Annabeth nodded in agreement. "That's how I survived the fall, because of my father. I probably shouldn't have disappeared, but I knew you would have questions I couldn't answer if I showed up completely unharmed. So I went back to my mom's apartment and Annabeth and I did a little digging into who you are."

"We couldn't find much, since like we told you before, we don't use technology," Annabeth continued. "The reason for that is because monsters can track us. As soon as we touch a computer or cell phone, it's like sending up a beacon to the nearest monster and telling it exactly where to find us. So we looked up everything we could about you guys and talked to Percy's mom and step-dad, but we're still not exactly sure what your situation is. We could tell you consider yourselves heroes, which is why we've been a little nervous since we met you on the bridge."

"Especially after I had a dream," Percy interjected. "For demigods, dreams usually warn us of something that's about to happen or give us a glimpse of something that's happening right now. Having a demigod dream is never a good sign, so, naturally, we became even more nervous when I dreamt about three of my old enemies plotting against me."

"They mentioned mortal allies, both on our side and on theirs, which is why we were curious and suspicious of you 'Avengers,'" Annabeth explained. "And since Percy's dream, we've been attacked by two monsters we know are working with our enemies. One of them, you two," she pointed at the Spider-Man and Tony Stark, "saw today. That was the Chimaera, the same monster that attacked Percy at the St. Louis Arch when we were twelve. Only this time, we were able to kill it. And since you were able to see it, I think you're all clear-sighted mortals, which means you can see through the Mist, the magical veil that keeps mortals from seeing all the godly stuff that would otherwise make them think they're insane. Since you saw it, we knew we couldn't keep lying to you, and I have this feeling that we're supposed to work together."

When Annabeth finished, the room was quiet again. This time, it seemed like they were all trying to wrap their heads around the magnificent story Annabeth and Percy had just told, and she didn't blame them. It was a lot to take in. She was lucky enough to have learned when she was young, but for people who had already been alive and fighting their own battles for decades, it was a lot to consider. She didn't envy them.

Most of them wore looks of shock or confusion. Tony Stark looked like he was solving difficult equations in his head; Clint was glancing at his teammates as if hoping to find someone as confused as him, which described James' and Sam's faces perfectly; Natasha and Fury were both studying Annabeth and Percy as if under a microscope; Vision and Wanda were simply staring at them; Steve and the James that went by Bucky kept glancing between Annabeth and Percy and the table; Carol looked completely at ease. Spider-Man was the only one whose face was covered and therefore hid whatever he was feeling, which made Annabeth uneasy. She prided herself on being able to read people, and not being able to see his face infuriated her.

Percy turned to Annabeth. "I think we broke them."

"Demigods," Tony stated, drawing their attention to him.

Annabeth nodded. "Yep."

"So you guys are half god?" Bucky clarified.

Percy nodded. "Lucky us."

"They're all real?" James said. "Zeus, Hades, Artemis, Demeter—"

"We'd appreciate it if you'd stop saying their names because names have power," Annabeth interrupted. The last thing they needed was for an angry god to show up. "Unless you want to get their attention, we try not to mention them by name."

"Can you show us your powers?" Carol asked.

Annabeth growled at the reminder. "I don't have any powers, unless you count being really smart and good at strategizing—"

"I do," Percy said. "I wouldn't be here without you."

Annabeth smiled and squeezed his hand before going on, "—but Percy can control water, heal himself with it, breathe underwater, and summon small hurricanes."

Percy nodded, extending a hand and making the water in the pitcher in the middle of the table float into the air and contort into hippocampi and other mythical creatures. "I can also create earthquakes, but I'm only just now figuring it out." He added.

"Any questions?" Annabeth wondered, and was in no way surprised when every hand in the room went up. She glanced at Percy. "We're going to be here for a while."