The Guardians

Chapter 4

Percy grinned as he watched his small group train. It had been seven months since they had formed and they had gained four more members.

The twins, Wanda and Pietro, were excelling rapidly. They were children of Hermes, but only Pietro had received powers from it. Wanda had earned her Magic Elemental when she had overcome her hatred of Stark and already had excellent control.

Then there was Max Violo. Max was a clear-sighted mortal that had stumbled across their camp and had been offered a probationary position. He had accepted, relieved to find people who didn't think him insane for what he could see.

Then, there was the youngest member of the group. Nine-year-old Damian Wayne. Damian had run away from his home in Gotham after being ignored by his father because of his upbringing. It had been a lot of work teaching Damian that he was not above others, but it had paid off.

They were in a forest in Oregon and had set up Camp there to train.

They were all training to resist charmspeak. Piper was naturally immune, so she was working on strengthening it. As she shouted random commands, Percy smirked. They were doing very well.

While Percy hated admitting to having favorites, he couldn't deny that he did. He had expected it to be Nico or Jason that caught his attention the most and became his favorites, but it was Harley and Damian. The kids excelled in nearly everything they attempted. Harley always cheered up Percy's day and Damian was always prepared with a worthy insult. Percy saw them as family and was planning on giving Damian his elemental ability soon.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Percy called. "Harley, with me."

Harley beamed and bounded over. "Yes, Boss?"

Percy felt his lips twitch into a fond smile. "I have a special assignment for you," he said.

"What is it?"

"You said you have connections in the mortal world, right?"

Harley nodded. He has told Percy all about his mentor, Tony Stark and his adoptive mother, Natasha Romanov. As such, he had plenty of connections in the government and in the social elite.

"I need you to set up a meeting with the Director of Shield. I'll need to work with him."

Harley smirked and pulled out his cell phone, pressing on a contact and holding it to his ear. "Hey, Uncle Nick!" he said cheerfully. "What would you say to a meeting with my boss?"

Percy chuckled when his enhanced senses picked up the exasperated sigh and a "What did you get yourself into, Keener?"

"I'll tell you when we meet up," Harley said.

"Fine. Be in my office at three."

"Thanks, Nick!"

The call ended and Percy checked the time. They had half an hour. "Go get ready, Harley," Percy said.

Harley ran off and changed into his uniform before coming back to find Percy in his own uniform. Percy let everyone know where they were going and gave them instructions as to what they were to do before flashing the two of them to Shield.

"Enter," the director called when they knocked.

They entered to find Nick Fury and Natasha Romanov. They were both sitting at the desk, waiting.

"Who are you?" Natasha asked after she had hugged her son.

"I'm Perseus," Percy said with a smirk. "Call me Percy."

"You wanted to meet?" Nick asked.

Percy sat down in an empty chair and conjured one for Harley, who happily plopped down. "I decided it would be best if we worked together, rather than against each other," Percy said casually.

"You're a demigod?"

"God," Percy corrected. "Former demigod, turned god. I now am the leader of a group called the Guardians. Harley, here, asked to join and I allowed it."

"What is it you want from me?"

Percy leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I propose a simple deal," he said. "I help you and you help me. See, you have resources and information, and I have power."

Nick nodded thoughtfully. "You would join the Avengers Initiative?"

The god snorted. "No, but I'd be willing to assist you in return for information and potential recruits. I'd even be willing to send some of my people to your Avengers Initiative."

Nick nodded. It was a better deal than he'd expected. "Alright. I will help you and you will help me."

"Good. Now, second issue. I want to enroll some of my Guardians in schools so they can search for demigods. Any way you can help with that?"

And so began a beautiful friendship between gods and mortals. Nick helped Percy get the paperwork to enroll several of his Guardians in Sunset Middle School in Oregon. In return, Percy gave Nick several files of Guardians that would be willing to be a part of the Avengers, under the condition that they remain fully loyal to Percy over Nick.

After the meeting, Harley stayed with his mother for the day, while Percy went back to their camp, promising to return for Harley that night. When he got to the camp, he was pleased to find them all sitting around a campfire, talking together.

He plopped down beside Damian and smiled widely at everyone as he was immediately involved in the conversation. They were discussing the best way to deal with the child abuser that they had noticed in town.

"I say we beat her up and then save her son," Clarisse said angrily. "Did you see what she did to that boy? He's only ten!"

"Or we could go about it legally," Will suggested.

"What's her name?" Percy asked.

It was Damian who answered, being the one who had done the research in her. "Zabini. She's too slippery to pin her down legally. She's gotten away with several murders already. We'll have to hurry because they're only here on vacation."

Percy frowned. "I see. Annie, I want you leading this. Take Wanda with you."

Annabeth nodded with a frown. "Bring the boy back here?"

He shrugged. "If Wanda can sense magic or divinity, yes. Otherwise, he should do alright in foster care."

Annabeth picked her team. She chose Piper, Clarisse, and Wanda. Since there weren't quite enough members to make permanent teams yet, they did this. Once they had enough people for permanent teams they would organize them.

"You have two days," Percy said before they left. "Be discreet. I don't want to have to call Fury to bail you out of jail so soon."

Annabeth just smirked and nodded. "Yes, Boss."

Sure enough, two days later, they showed back up with a dark-skinned young boy. "Who are you?"

"My name is Perseus. Call me Percy," the god said. He sensed magic within the boy and tilted his head curiously. It wasn't divine magic, meaning that the boy belonged to the wizarding world. "Where are you from?"

The boy eyed him warily as he responded. "England."

Percy smiled. "Ah, so it'll be Hogwarts for you?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Percy, Blaise needs medical attention," Annabeth said.

Percy nodded thoughtfully. "Take him to Will." He eyed the thin clothing he was wearing. "Harley," he called, "go get one of your uniforms for Mr. Zabini. Max, put together a plate for him."

Annabeth took Blaise to Will and Percy returned to training with Damian. He would speak with the boy later, when he was healed dressed in warmer clothing.

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