Shards (A Percy Jackson and Avengers Crossover)

It Wasn't Me!

Hello dear readers. It is I, the wonderful, amazing, auth—hey stop laughing! I'm serious. Well, sorta. Anyway, I hope all of you are doing well. Thanks for sticking by my story. I know people (like me) hate long author's notes, so without further ado—here's the next chapter!

"So," Percy scratched his head. "Where should I start?"

Nico gave an unamused grunt. "How about why it's been weeks since anyone at camp has heard anything from you?"

Nico paused, glancing over at the Avengers. Whatever some people might say, Percy Jackson was not completely oblivious. Sometimes. He knew Nico was hesitant to say anything more around mortals.

"They know all of it. Just not our personal experiences," Percy informed the other demigod.

Nico blinked, shocked. "You told them!?" He shouted, disbelief coloring his voice as he jumped up, his hands balled into fists.

Percy was up in an instance, hands out in an attempt to calm the enraged teen. "Woah, woah, woah! Take a breath, Neeks. Thor already knew. It was only a matter of time before the mortals found out as well."

Percy knew that his logic was slowing penetrating Nico's hard head when Nico paused, uncertain. Percy exhaled and sat down, motioning for Nico to do the same. After a second's hesitation, he slowly sunk into the brown armchair.

Percy inclined his head towards the Avengers, who were half-up, hands already on their respective weapons.
"Their organization thought I was a terrorist—"

"Because of all the stuff you destroyed?" Nico asked with a raised eyebrow.

Percy opened his mouth—

"That's exactly why," Tony agreed amenably. All the Avengers nodded their heads.

Percy groaned, putting his head in his hands. "I didn't destroy that much stuff," he protested. Everyone blinked.

Then Nico decided to open his big mouth. "Well, there's the St. Louis Arch—"

"That wasn't my fau—"

"And then there's the Princess Andromeda—"

"That was—"

"And there's that time in fifth grade with that cannon and the school
bus—"

"How did you even—"

"And, of course, the—"

"Okay. Okay. I get it," Percy groaned, rubbing his temples again as he glared at Nico. Nico just gave a quick, cocky grin and sat back, satisfied with his victory. Percy scowled. That boy was giving him a major headache.

The Avengers, who'd been watching their conversation like a tennis match, blinked.

Tony leaned toward Steve. "Am I the only one who's totally lost?"

Steve shook his head mutely. Thor just grinned.

"So, like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Percy paused, shooting a quick glare in Nico's direction as he resisted the childish urge to stick out his tongue. "They were ordered to capture me. Long story short it didn't work," cue embarrassed looks, "But Thor convinced me to come." Percy looked down. "They saw the scars," he paused. "I had a nightmare, too."

Nico stayed silent, understanding dawning on his face.

Percy coughed lightly. "Anyway, I figured it would be better that they heard it from me rather than for them to keep digging and figure it out themselves," Percy explained, gesturing to the silent heroes. Nico nodded, satisfied by Percy's explanation.

Percy turned to the Avengers. Sensing that they were about to get an explanation of their own, they straightened, staring intently at Percy.

Percy gestured to Nico.  "Avengers meet Nico di Angelo a.k.a the Ghost King. His father is Hades, the god of the underworld. He and his sister got stuck in a casino, and, long story short, he's actually like eighty years old."  The heroes blinked. Percy could almost hear their jaws dropping.

Tony raised his hand. ". . . what?" 

Percy sighed. "I'll explain later."  The Avengers nodded slowly. Tony lowered his hand.

"Nico meet the Avengers," Percy said, waving a hand at them. Percy quickly gave their names and respective aliases. Percy clasped his hands together. "Okay, problem solved."

The Avengers exchanged looks. They were more confused now than before. Nico noticed their puzzled looks. His lips twitched upward. "Hey, Perce. I think you need to work on your communication skills," he said, amusement lacing his voice.

Percy threw a scowl in Nico's direction. "My communication skills are just fine," Percy huffed slightly, crossing his arms and pouting like a little kid.

Nico covered his growing grin with a hand.  "Mhm," he nodded, obviously not convinced. Percy couldn't help it this time. He stuck out his tongue.

The Avengers smothered their smiles, amused by the teenagers' antics. They had never seen Percy act so carefree, and, well, genuinely happy except for the prank.  It was refreshing to see Percy actually acting like a normal teenage boy and not a hard, stone-cold soldier.

Thor grinned. So it was true. While Percy's exploits were indeed famous, his rumored personality was even more so.

Nico had also seen a change in Percy, one he didn't think even Percy himself was aware of. While it was true that Nico hadn't really seen much of Percy since that day, he had observed Percy's closed-off, colder attitude. He was happy that, as they talked, Percy had softened slightly, becoming warmer and more open in his thoughts and actions.

Nico felt a ghost of a smile (see what I did there) flirt across his lips. He was happy that his old friend was still somewhere in there.

Percy, contrary to popular belief, and as explained earlier, wasn't always an inattentive, unobservant guy. He had noticed Nico's—dare he say it—cheerful attitude and the looks that the Avengers were exchanging.

Percy glanced down. While he had been talking to Nico, he had fallen back into old habits. Before he knew it, he was joking around, happy with the act of just talking to a friend. Percy smiled sadly. He hadn't realized how much he had missed that.

Percy looked up, frowning thoughtfully. He turned to Nico. "Hey Nico. How'd you find me?"

Nico looked up from his musings. "I asked my dad for a favor," he responded.

Percy nodded in understanding. He cocked his head as another thought hit him. "Did you tell anyone else I was here?" 

Nico shook his head. "I wanted to talk to you before I told anyone at the camps," he explaining and paused. "Actually, I ran into Thalia on the way."

Percy froze, paling dramatically. "You told Thalia!?" He squeaked, his voice jumping high. He put his head in his hands. "That's it. I'm dead. My life is over." He glanced mournfully at Nico. "You might as well just send me to the Underworld early. Just make it painless," he paused tearfully. "And promise you'll visit."

Nico shook his head at his cousin's dramatic antics. "Percy, you're starting to act like Zeus. You're so—"

He stopped as the elevator dinged. Percy was up in an instant. He darted behind Nico's chair. Save me, he mouthed to Nico. He and Nico paled when they heard the enraged yell.

"PERSEUS ACHILLES JACKSON!"

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