The Jackson Enigma

Do You See What I See?

There weren't many people that he worked in close, consistent proximity to that made Tony Stark uneasy. That was exactly who Perseus Jackson was. The billionaire knew he wasn't the only one who felt that way, but he was certain he was the one who felt it the most.

For the longest time, there had been no 'Avengers Tower,' only Stark Tower. The genius had been used to working mostly alone, if not for Pepper Pots. Then, an evil frost giant Asgardian god showed up with golden horns and, all of a sudden he found himself not working alone anymore. The brilliant engineer became a part of a team, and the more crises that presented themselves, the more they worked together and the closer they bonded. Stark Tower was now Avengers Tower, whether he liked it or not.

While Tony wasn't the biggest fan of newcomers, when Peter Parker turned up, Tony couldn't help but like the kid. He was young and made mistakes, but he was also energetic and hardworking. He had a nice heart, and a brilliant mind in the making. The billionaire couldn't help but see himself in the kid. Sure the teenager made a mess and got in over his head every now and then, but he always tried to do what was right. Peter Parker was rare, and though he concealed it well, he couldn't help but be proud of who the kid was turning out to be.

Perseus Jackson was not Peter Parker. In fact, Anthony Stark wasn't sure what Jackson was, and that was part of what worried him. While Parker was an open book, Jackson was not. The green-eyed teen kept secrets, and lots of them. Some, Tony could look past. Jackson just met them, it would take him a while to warm up to them and open up. Others, he could not. Tony had already been uncomfortable with the secretive demeanor of the teenager from the beginning, but when he refused to give the whereabouts of a seemingly very dangerous being, the philanthropist recoiled. What that told him was that Jackson was in the habit of protecting dangerous criminals. He was a walking obstruction of justice.

And while Peter Parker had a clean record, Perseus Jackson did not. Sure, none of the charges stuck, but the mysterious teen's suspicious activity could not be ignored. It didn't sit well with Tony that he had this strange person in is home, or that said person was getting cozy with a brown haired teen that the genius would protect with his life. That is, if cozy was even the proper word to describe their relationship. Perseus was certainly closer and more comfortable with Peter than he was the other members of the team, but he still had his guard up around his fellow teen.

The only other person that Jackson was comfortable with besides Peter was Bruce Banner. Whatever had been on that camera was something extremely personal and private to Perseus. In sharing that with Banner, no matter how involuntarily, a gap had been bridged. While Perseus didn't spill his guts to the doctor, Tony did sense a presence of ease that the kid had around Bruce that wasn't present even around Peter. At first, the billionaire didn't really understand it. Wouldn't the green-eyed teen be more uncomfortable around Banner since he knew something the others didn't? Why was Jackson more relaxed around Bruce than Peter, but more comfortable around Peter than Bruce?

It was something that nagged at Tony, but he didn't stop pondering until he found an answer. It was the time that followed. Despite knowing whatever it is that Bruce now knew about the newest Avenger, he didn't share it with the others. Not only that, but he didn't press Perseus about it or try and trick answers out of him. However, it was also more than that.

Perseus Jackson didn't see Bruce Banner as a threat. It was no secret that the doctor was the meekest on the team, aside from perhaps Peter. While both himself and Banner were both intellectually masterful, Bruce didn't have the same social aptitude that Tony Stark did. Already one to keep to himself before the emergence of his other half, once the Hulk came to be, the scientist only further alienated himself.

Yet, despite the green embodiment of rage and destruction that everyone else so painstakingly tried to keep at bay by tiptoeing around the doctor, Stark noticed that Jackson seemed non too worried about Banner's feral side. While to the common outsider it might seem that the enterprising billionaire himself acts the same way, but jests aside, Stark did his fair share of tiptoeing.  The man of Iron didn't quite understand how Jackson so easily brushed aside the ever present potential for Bruce to turn into the Hulk.

Perhaps it came back to Bruce's meekness. Perhaps the newest addition to the Avengers simply couldn't imagine a man so meek— though brilliant and sometimes quite fierce— turning into anything so chaotic. Perhaps Jackson was merely ignorant and Stark was overthinking things.

The genius didn't think so.

However, since he had nothing else to go on, he took to the other oddities of the strange teenager. Such as how Perseus never liked to have anyone at his back. To the point that he was constantly repositioning himself or slipping away should anyone come at a standstill behind him. That, along with the way Perseus seemed to routinely check exits and walk freakishly quiet made Stark very uncomfortable. It mirrored the antics of his spy teammate Natasha Romanov, and the prospects as to why Jackson would have the mannerisms of a government spy didn't sit well with Tony.

Tony Stark didn't like feeling uncomfortable in his own home, but he reassured himself with the knowledge that he was surrounded by powerful people whom he trusted, and should it come down to it, they would be able to take Jackson down. And, heck, he was Iron Man! He was the first one in the business! Stark didn't think being frozen in ice for several decades was fair, so the walking flag with a shield was automatically disqualified. Even without his teammates, Tony had all of his brilliant inventions, several different versions of the Iron Man suit, and Jarvis— not to mention his innovative mind.

Perseus Jackson was no match for him alone.

If the kid became a threat, well, Tony Stark was well accustomed to dealing with threats. No matter that Jackson was barely a year older than Peter Parker. No matter that Tony could almost swear Perseus was a normal teenager when he laughed and joked with Peter, if not for the ever present alertness in his eyes and how he never laughed too hard. No matter the way Perseus tensed every time he was in the elevator and seem ready to rip out of his skin, claustrophobia that only Stark recognized from his own experiences after going through the wormhole.

No matter that the philanthropist pretended he didn't notice the shadows under Jackson's eyes, or the heaviness in said eyes, the heaviness in Jackson's entire body. No matter that Tony maybe needed to stop attaching himself to his teenage teammates just because they shared the sad tale of absent parent syndrome— whether from death or otherwise— like he did. No matter that despite all the things wrong and suspicious and concerning about Perseus, and there were many, Tony Stark was not a cold hearted SHIELD agent who could act unmercifully regardless of the subject. No offense to Clint and Natasha.

No matter.

It didn't matter.

It couldn't matter.

It mattered.