Demigods Assemble (PJO/MCU)

Chapter 16

Tony

Tony was only half-listening as Percy and Annabeth answered his teammates' questions about who they were and what they could do. His mind was racing with the possibilities as the information sunk in.

Demigods. Actual half-human half-god hybrids—seemingly nothing like Thor—rooted in Greek culture. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite . . . they were all real. Mount Olympus hovered over the Empire State Building, the entrance to the Underworld was in an LA recording studio, and Atlas actually stood on a mountain in San Francisco keeping the sky from crushing the earth. Monsters like the Minotaur and Polyphemus the Cyclops were real, and they never truly died.

It was almost too much for Tony to process. He could handle a scientist that turned into a giant green rage monster. He could accept a hundred-year-old virgin whose shield defied the laws of physics. He could appreciate a god-like giant who controlled lightning. He could understand a girl that could move things with her mind and a boy that could stick to walls. He could even grow to like a woman from the '90s that had a tendency to glow and interacted with Nick Fury in a way Tony had never seen before.

But teenage half-gods who had seen more death, destruction, and trauma than their entire team put together (except perhaps Barnes)? That was a little much.

"Now that you know who we are," Annabeth said, drawing Tony's attention back to the conversation, "would you mind telling us who each of you are? Like we said, we don't use technology, and if we're going to work together, it would be nice to know our teammates."

"First, you keep saying we're going to work together. Why?" Steve said.

It looked as though Steve had decided to accept Percy and Annabeth's explanation for now and deal with it later on his own time. Tony resolved to do the same.

Annabeth answered, "We mentioned the Fates, they decide how long a person will live and, to some extent, what will happen to them. They can kind of see the future, although usually, that's Apollo's domain since he's in charge of the Oracles. Anyway, in Percy's dream, Echidna said she had seen bits of the future from the Fates and knew that in whatever conflict is coming, she would have mortal allies—but so would we. I think you guys are our allies."

"Except—we're not all mortal," Clint said, and murmurs of agreement echoed around the table.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I kind of figured, but you're mortal enough. Still, we don't know which of you are mortal and which aren't, so again, could you briefly tell us who you are and how you became a part of the 'Avengers?'" She used air quotes.

Tony exchanged a look with the others around the table, finally stopping with Steve. "Age before beauty," Tony smirked.

Steve gave him a look but told his story all the same. "I was born in nineteen-eighteen. When World War Two broke out, I joined the army even though I was pretty weak at the time because I wanted to help. I was chosen for a top-secret super-soldier program, which gave me enhanced strength, speed, agility, healing, and other similar powers. They called me Captain America. I stopped some Nazis, including Red Skull, the leader of a rogue science division called HYDRA, and in nineteen-forty-five, I crashed a ship in the Arctic to save a lot of lives which left me frozen in ice for almost seventy years. I eventually woke up and joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers."

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Percy's brow furrowed.

"Top secret government organization a few years ago, but it's gone now," Nat informed him and Percy went, "Ah."

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other, but they seemed less surprised than Tony expected of two people who just found out someone sitting in front of them was one-hundred years old.