LIGHTNING ✔P.M. ₁

chapter twelve

A SHIELD AGENT, WHO ROBIN FOUND OUT WAS NAMED Maria Hill, along with the flying Tin Can, lead him around what they called the Avengers Compound. A real creative name. The boy suspected that Agent Hill was only there to make sure he behaved, as Tony was the only one talking throughout the tour. Robin wasn't really paying attention. He looked at Maria. "Can I call you Mountain?" He asked, not exactly caring for her answer as he would do it either way.

She shot him a confused look. "I'm sorry?"

"Can I call you Mountain? I mean, your last name's Hill, and a mountain is technically a big hill, so it seems like a good nickname," Robin rambled on. Tony didn't seem to notice the interaction as he kept on talking.

Maria gave him a look. "Do what you want," She said before pushing him forward, seeing as they were loosing the billionaire. He jogged to catch up, catching the end of his speech.

"And that concludes our tour! What do you think?" Tony asked, turning around to face the young boy and clapped his hands together.

Robin shrugged. He hadn't been paying attention. "It's uh, nice." That seemed to bring a smile to the man's face, proud of the compound he helped pay for. "I won't be staying here, right?" Robin then asked, hesitation in his voice.

Maria was the one to respond. "You will. We can't have you escaping."

Robin put his hand over his chest in mock hurt. "You guys don't trust me? I'm hurt."

"You did beat up my entire team," Tony deadpanned.

The boy opened his mouth to retaliate, then closed it again. "That is true," He agreed with a nod. He crossed his arms, looking around the empty space where the tour had started. "So where am I staying? Don't tell me I have to share a room with Boy Scout."

Tony lead him down a hall where all the rooms were. Each Avenger had one, even if they didn't stay there permanently. They weren't much different from one and other, but the doors had each person's name on it. He took Robin's hand and held it to a scanner beside a door without a name. The door opened, a furnished room revealing itself. Robin carefully stepped inside. It held a queen sized bed, a desk, an empty bookshelf and a wooden wardrobe. There was also a window, but the demigod guessed he wouldn't be able to break it. That would be too easy.

"Make yourself at home," Tony said before he and Maria left him in the room.

Robin took a breath as the door closed behind him. The room didn't feel very homey. He went to the other door first. He opened it, and saw that it was a small washroom. Perfect, he thought, searching his pockets for a drachma. He found a lot of pocket lint and a singular coin. "Thank Zeus!" He exclaimed quietly, turning the tap on. He was glad he hadn't spent it all on his ride to the zoo earlier. "Show me Annabeth Chase."

Sam paced the kitchen floor. Steve and Natasha were also in that same room, sitting on bar stools by the island. Natasha was enjoying a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while Steve just kind of sat there, watching his friend walk in circles. "Sam, calm down," He said softly. Natasha nodded along with his words.

"Yeah, you're burning a hole into the floor," She joked, trying to lighten the mood. She took a bite of her sandwich, a smile smile grazing her lips.

Sam shook his head. "I just, I thought I knew him! Then it turns out he did all this stuff and I don't know what to think anymore! He won't even say anything that will help make sense of it all, not even to me."

"You did break his trust," Tony pointed out unhelpfully as he and Maria walked in. Sam glared at him.

"I know!"

"I'm sure he'll forgive you. It was for the best, anyway. Besides, he'll be safe here," Steve said, standing up from his stool.

"I'm not so sure about that," Sam admitted. "He has walls built up, I doubt he'd ever trust me again. Some things happened to him, but I don't know exactly what. He won't talk about it." And it was true. Robin refused to talk about his past trauma, not even briefly. He mentioned some friends and a camp, but nothing else. He didn't go into detail at all. He especially avoided certain topics, such as his family and his religion. Sam had hoped to learn more about his past once he got to know him more, but he just lost that chance.

"Maybe we can get Pietro and Wanda to get to know him, maybe get him to start warming up to the team," Maria suggested.

Tony shook his head. "Tough luck. You saw the way Pietro reacted just to having to talk to him."

Natasha nodded, pointing to the man in agreement. "Wanda had to hold him back when Fury asked him to join the team. He does not like him," She added.

"Probably due to the fact that he got beat up twice," Tony continued.

"Twice?" Sam asked. Steve was equally as confused.

"Yeah, once when we went to pay him a visit at his apartment," He avoided saying 'broke in'. "and once when he went to find him to bring him here."

"That's why he had grass stains all over his outfit," Steve noted. Tony nodded.

Sam sighed and sat down on the stool Steve previously sat on. "I really thought I knew him," He mumbled, putting his head down on the counter.

Natasha pat his back sympathetically. "It's a lot to take in."

"He's a good person, Nat."

The assassin wasn't sure about that, but she wouldn't express her concerns. It wouldn't help him. "I know."

"Why don't we start some Avengers training to get your mind off things?" Steve suggested.

Sam nodded wearily. "Sure."