Chapter 29

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Percy

Percy liked these new team members. Coulson had a good sense of humor, May was a badass fighter like Natasha, Mack was a ginormous teddy bear (both mentally and physically), Daisy had some insane-sounding powers, Elena's arms and powers were awesome, and FitzSimmons were giant nerds and an adorable couple. Even Maria seemed cool, although Percy hadn't seen much of her since she'd holed herself up with Fury almost immediately after arriving. They were all very nice too, and Percy was sure they'd be good fighters.

It was amazing hearing about everything they'd done over the past few years. Percy had dealt with some complicated situations in his lifetime, but he was glad he hadn't had to worry about time and space travel or robots that gained autonomy and gave themselves powers. They'd done some crazy things. As much traveling as he had done, he couldn't say he'd been to another planet, or the future (it didn't sound very appealing), or been trapped in an extended simulation. To be honest, Percy was fine with that. He'd been through enough in his lifetime, and with the way the Fates were handling things, it seemed like he'd never run out of trouble.

Percy really wanted to see more of what they could do. He'd barely seen Elena's powers and Daisy hadn't shown them anything yet. He was also curious about Mack's shotgun-ax, and Coulson's hand, which apparently had some tricks of its own. Fitz's little drones sounded cool too. Percy would bet everything he owned that Leo would love to get his hands on them.

The next day, Percy's wish came true. The weather permitted them to train outside, which was good for Daisy since Tony didn't want her to destroy his building. A few people sparred on the grass while the rest witnessed Daisy's spectacular demonstration.

At first, it didn't seem like much. Daisy closed her eyes and they waited. After a few moments, Percy detected a slight tremble beneath their feet. He was just starting to feel disappointed when the shaking intensified, making it hard to stand, while Daisy was completely unaffected. Finally, she stopped and opened her eyes. Percy was about to clap when the show got even better.

Daisy directed her palms to the ground and pulsings rings of power shot from her hands, propelling her into the air. She rose gracefully, her hair flying around her face, and then she dropped. At the last second, another burst of power emanated from her hands, allowing her to land unharmed in the—patent-pending—Superhero Landing.

For her final trick, Mack tossed a target into the air and Daisy blasted it apart almost effortlessly. Percy gaped at her, wishing he could do that. So far, all he could do was make the ground vibrate a little bit.

Percy would have loved to continue watching, especially when Daisy and May started sparring and Daisy used her abilities to strengthen her attacks, but Annabeth insisted he train as well. Reluctantly, he joined her and Vision, Wanda, Carol, and Clint to continue practicing to fight monsters.

The training didn't last long, however, when a warning from F.R.I.D.A.Y. told them that a large group of heat signatures was coming towards them from the woods. Percy and Annabeth traded looks before readying their weapons and watching the tree line with everyone else.

"Can't we have just one day without some unannounced visitors?" Rhodey grumbled on Percy's right.

Annabeth's presence beside him was calming, but Percy still felt on edge as they waited. He was pleased to discover that his nerves were entirely unnecessary when the first few people emerged from the forest. Percy would recognize those silver jackets and the lieutenant's spiky black hair adorned with a silver circlet anywhere.

"Stand down," Annabeth told the Avengers, "It's the Hunters of Artemis."

"More demigods?" Simmons gasped.

"Mostly," Annabeth confirmed. "But the Hunters can be mortals, demigods, legacies, or nymphs. Not just demigods. And they don't have to be Greek, but Artemis is usually in her Greek form with them."

Percy and Annabeth started forward to greet the Hunters after instructing everyone else to stay back. They met in the middle where Thalia hugged them both, although Percy was pretty sure her "accidental" static shock was purposeful.

"Good to see you two after so long." Thalia smiled at them.

"You too, Pinecone Face." Percy grinned, slinging an arm around Annabeth's shoulders.

Thalia rolled her eyes and looked at Annabeth. "I see you still haven't wised up and ditched the doofus and joined us single ladies."

Annabeth shrugged. "He keeps me entertained. If I ever get bored I'll let you know."

"Hey!" Percy protested.

Thalia and Annabeth shared a look and burst out laughing while Percy pouted. The rest of the Hunters, a few dozen girls clad in silver and camouflage, caught up to them and Reyna made her way to the front.

"Hey, RA-RA," Percy said cheekily.

"You know, Aurum and Argentum are with the wolves, Perseus," Reyna said with a straight face. "Would you like me to summon them?"

Percy gulped. "No."

"Nice to see you, Reyna," Annabeth said, much friendlier.

"You too, Annabeth."

The two of them hugged, which still weirded Percy out. After their first meeting in New Rome when Annabeth had shown up in a giant warship and Reyna was still a little miffed by Percy rejecting her—and then, of course, Leo had gone and (unwillingly) blown the place up—Percy had never expected the two of them to get along. But after Reyna tried to keep the peace between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood, and succeeded in bringing the Athena Parthenos back to Long Island in one piece, any trace of bitterness between them had disappeared. If anything, that was worse, since Annabeth teased Percy about his relationship with Reyna and kept him on his toes every day of their relationship. Annabeth did that just by being herself, though, so it wasn't much of an adjustment.

"Where's Artemis?" Annabeth wondered.

"On Olympus trying to keep Apollo in line." Thalia sighed. "There's some awards show coming up on Hephaestus TV and even though he's a bit better after his whole stint as Lester Papadopoulos, he still doesn't always know when to stop."

Percy made a mental note not to have Apollo plan his next birthday party, not that he'd been considering it before.

"I'll tell the girls to start setting up their tents," Reyna said, and Thalia nodded at her.

"Wanna introduce me to your friends? They look pretty eager to meet us." Thalia jerked her head behind Percy and Annabeth, reminding him that they had an audience. "You still have to tell me why we're here and what this place is."

While the Hunters unfolded their tents, Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia made their way back to the Avengers. They were all watching the Hunters curiously, and Percy worried what the Hunters might do to the men.

"Avengers, this is Thalia Gr—" Percy's introduction was cut short as Thalia stomped on his foot to keep from mentioning her last name.

Annabeth didn't even take notice of Percy's cry of pain and continued, "She's the daughter of Zeus and the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis." She then quickly ran through the names of everyone there for Thalia's sake.

"Percy and Annabeth have told us about your group," Natasha said, "I like the idea of it. I'd like to meet more of you."

"I'd be happy to introduce you, just as soon as Percy and Annabeth tell me why we're here." Thalia folded her arms, staring them down.

"We can go inside to talk, give you the long version, and then you can give the Hunters the short version," Annabeth suggested.

Tony, Steve, Coulson, Natasha, and Carol followed Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia towards the door while everyone else stayed outside to continue training—and probably observing the Hunters.

"You're not worried about the Hunters with them?" Percy asked Thalia.

Thalia waved him off. "Nah, they'll be fine." Before entering the compound, she turned back to all the Avengers who were staying outside and called out, "If any of you boys want to keep your manhood, leave my Hunters alone."

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