Tower of Secrets

Percy Jackson

I didn't like it. I didn't want it. I didn't ask for it. But, nobody listens to me, so why should I have been surprised?

After the introductions, we all walked to a kitchen. Mr. Rogers started to cook up some lunch immediately.

"Any food allergies I need to know about?" he asked absentmindedly.

"No," I replied evenly. "How long was I out?"

"About a full day," Peter informed me.

"Styx," I muttered.

"What's wrong?" Clint wondered once he noticed my distressed behavior.

I sighed. "I have a baby sister, Estelle. My parents are in the hospital right now and she's all alone at home."

"I'll take you to go get her," Ms. Romanoff decided. "Steve, save some for us."

"Roger that," Steve mumbled as he mixed ingredients.

So, Ms. Romanoff led me to the elevator. I stopped just before we entered. "Can I take the stairs?"

"We're on the floor number fifty," Natasha informed with a raised eyebrow. "Got something against elevators?"

I nodded. "I can take the stairs alone if you want to ride the elevator. I doubt I'll be able to step foot in an elevator ever again after what happened."

"What happened?" Ms. Romanoff questioned as she started to lead me to the stairs.

"Nothing you should know," I mumbled. Having reached the stairs, I started my descent at a rapid pace "See you on the first floor," I hollered.

She was soon out of sight and I was left to my task. When I reached the bottom, I had barely broken a sweat. Perks of being an athletic demigod, I guess. Ms. Romanoff gave me a very controlled surprised glance, but didn't say anything. She drove me to my apartment without a word, which I was thankful for.

Once we got to my apartment, however, I was unnerved to find the door ajar. I motioned for her to stay quiet aa we entered to find a dracaena with her back turned from us just a few feet away from Estelle's play pin in the living room.

"Hey, snake face!" I growled, announcing my arrival. "Leave my baby sister alone."

The monster stiffened before turning around to face me, a cruel grin crossing her features. "If it isn't the great Perseus Jackson. What a surprise!"

"Well, yeah," I deadpanned, "this is my apartment after all."

"I'm gonna kill you," she hissed.

I rolled my eyes. "There's a waiting list for that actually. I'll write you down." She snarled at me and charged. I stood there, unimpressed before pulling Riptide out of my pocket and uncapping it to reveal its sword form. The moment the metal made contact, she exploded into golden dust.

"Was that the same type of monster that attacked Director Fury?" Ms. Romanoff asked curiously. I nodded as I picked up Estelle and grabbed a duffle bag and started stuffing her diapers and formula and changes of clothes and toys inside. "You might as well grab your own stuff while we're here."

"Okay," I muttered as I handed her a sleeping Estelle and tossed the duffel bag on the couch.

"Why does it smell like something's burning?" she asked.

"There was a fire in my parents' bedroom a few days ago. A certain type of monster has flaming hair. I managed to grab my sis and get out quickly, but when I ran back inside for my parents, they had already sustained serious injuries," I explained whilst I grabbed my backpack and stuffed a few Camp Halfblood t-shirts along with some pictures, a scrapbook, and a book Annabeth had been making me read. I went to the bathroom to grab my toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant along with showering necessities. I returned and grabbed my sister's bag and took her back into my arms.

"I'll have Tony prepare a room for her," Ms. Romanoff suggested, pulling out her phone.

"Far away from my room, I don't want to wake her," I suggested. She looked at me curiously.

"You don't want to wake her? Isn't it the other way around?"

I shrugged. "It probably won't stay secret for much longer, so I'll just go ahead and tell you: I get really bad night terrors. Half the time, I wake everyone up at home or at camp screaming. So, I don't want to wake her."

"Interesting. What about when she wakes up on her own? Who's gonna take care of her then?" she pointed out.

"Can't I just put a baby camera in her room to let me know when she wakes up?" I suggested.

"I'll do you one better," she said as we walked out to the car, "the tower has an AI built into it named Jarvis. Tell Jarvis to wake you if your sister wakes up in the middle of the night."

I nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"So, what are your night terrors about, usually?" she asked while she drove.

I tensed. I was sitting in the backseat with Estelle sitting in my lap since I didn't know where her carseat was. "They're just memories, really. Sometimes, certain details change, but that's rare. Can you not tell the others? We just met and I really don't want their view of me to be defined by something like this. If I'm lucky, I might manage to hide it for a few days," I asked sheeishly.

Ms. Romanoff sent me a small smile from the driver's seat. "My lips are sealed. When did you start getting these night terrors?"

I shrugged. "I got one every now and then a little after I turned twelve. Last year, they've picked up and I can barely sleep without getting one."

"Do you know why?"

I knew my expression and voice were pained. "I don't want to talk about it."