Demigods Assemble (PJO/MCU)

Chapter 52

Tony

"You made it!" Annabeth beamed when she reached the top of Half-Blood Hill.

From his spot on the other side of Thalia's pine tree, Tony smiled at the sight for sore eyes. An arm snaked around Annabeth's shoulders and she leaned into Percy's side. He, too, was smirking at Tony and the others. It had been too long since he'd seen them. Tony, Rhodey, Peter, Clint, Natasha, Steve, Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Vision, Carol, and Daisy had accepted their invitation to Camp Half-Blood, although he wasn't sure what Percy and Annabeth were planning. Still, it was nice to have them all together again. Tony wished the rest of the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were there too, but after receiving the news of Coulson's death a week earlier . . . he wasn't surprised that Quake was the only one who had come. Tony was just glad he'd had some more time with Phil and had passed along the trading cards before saying a final goodbye.

Tony was drawn out of his thoughts when Sam said, "Clint heard about the marshmallows and insisted."

"There's plenty to go around," Percy reassured Hawkeye, who grinned excitedly.

Tony, Peter, and Steve had no trouble walking across the property line, but Percy and Annabeth had to take a few minutes to give permission to the rest of the Avengers that hadn't already been to Camp Half-Blood. As each one crossed the border, Peleus growled softly at them and curled more protectively to Thalia's tree. Wanda looked curiously at the Golden Fleece, then noticed the smoke pouring from Peleus' nostrils and wisely backed away.

Annabeth fell into step with Carol, Wanda, and Natasha as they descended the hill. A few feet away, Percy was deep in conversation with Daisy about conjuring earthquakes, since he'd apparently been practicing almost religiously since doing so during the battle. Behind them, the rest of the Avengers were chatting amongst themselves. Tony, Peter, and Steve were acting as makeshift tour guides for those that were new to Camp Half-Blood.

"Is that a lava rock climbing wall?" Rhodey sounded shocked.

"Demigods like a challenge." Steve smirked.

"What are those?" Bucky pointed.

"The pegasi stables," Peter answered.

"That's where my buddy Blackjack spends most of his time," Percy called over his shoulder, "when he's not kidnapping me to take him to get donuts." Clint opened his mouth as if to ask a question but Percy stopped him with a simple, "Don't ask."

The night air was cool and refreshing after a hard day of training with Peter and a long drive to Long Island. Since the battle, Tony and the others hadn't done much. They'd answered any lingering questions from the UN about the scuffle while keeping the Greeks and Romans a secret and then continued training, building, and trying to figure out what to do with themselves while they weren't facing an immediate threat. They'd decided to let the new S.H.I.E.L.D. grow for a bit under the leadership of the new Director Mack and only join in later if they were needed—not to mention, once S.H.I.E.L.D. had been approved as a legitimate intelligence and security organization for the third time.

All Tony knew was that since it was the last day of the summer session, there would be some sort of ceremony at the campfire that night. Even though their attendance was expected, there were still many gasps and wide eyes as Annabeth, Percy, and their superhero entourage entered the amphitheater. Tony recognized only a handful of the campers since not all of them had been involved in the fight, but Percy and Annabeth said they'd all heard the stories and found safe ways to look up the Avengers. Tony embraced the attention wholeheartedly (as was his nature) but some of the others—namely Peter, Steve, and Bucky—seemed a little embarrassed by it. Natasha, Carol, and Vision completely ignored it.

Annabeth sat at the head of a group of athletic-looking kids with the same fierce gray eyes and sandy blonde hair as her, with Percy alone next to her and the Avengers beside him. Harley squeezed his way in between Tony and Peter and began talking to the two of them animatedly, and Tony was glad to see that Peter showed no signs of jealousy and instead really seemed to like the kid. Another group of demigods passed around marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate bars, and skewers, and the campfire began.

The fire was the most interesting part since it changed color and height depending on the mood of the campers. The most musically-inclined cabin—Apollo's children, Tony guessed—led a sing-a-long with what they considered classics, but Tony had never heard of songs such as "This Land is Minos' Land" or "Down by the Aegean." Still, the cheery atmosphere was contagious and Tony and the Avengers joined in as best as they could, with amusing results. Clint had a surprisingly nice voice, but it was ruined by the fact that he was just mumbling syllables since he knew none of the words. The others were doing much of the same, without the pleasing sound. Nevertheless, they were all wearing big smiles with chocolate and marshmallow staining their lips.

The sight warmed Tony's heart. Despite the circumstances they'd been forced to meet under, Tony cared for Percy and Annabeth and didn't want to see any more harm come to them or their friends. Tony had missed the two of them since they went back to Camp Half-Blood for the rest of the summer. When they were still in Manhattan, Tony had relished any chance to discuss intellectual topics with Annabeth, Rhodey, and Peter, or the opportunity to poke fun at the others with Percy. Tony knew they loved spending time with the superheroes too; he'd noticed Annabeth pondering strategy with Steve, Sam, and Bucky, or training hard with Clint, Natasha, Wanda, and Carol to improve her fighting skills. Percy had joined them a few times too to improve his hand-to-hand combat without a weapon, and Tony had tracked a few unexpected almost-earthquakes that he suspected Percy and Daisy had something to do with. It was nice seeing Peter behaving like a regular mischievous teenager with them, instead of being forced into a battle too weighty for someone his age.

Tony couldn't deny that the thought of the future was always on his mind, too. He hoped it wouldn't come for a long time, but he wasn't naive enough to think that demigods and superheroes would never have to team up again. Besides, if the other members of their team like Thor or Dr. Banner ever returned, he would like for them to meet.

But for now, everything was quiet. No one was on the run from the government, HYDRA was almost nonexistent, and angry immortals were keeping to themselves. Tony was content.

The night was soon very cold and dark and it appeared that the campfire was almost over. Tony was beginning to wonder if anything else would happen. He had a feeling there was something Percy and Annabeth hadn't told them about the reason they'd invited them.

Finally, the truth was revealed. As a few of the senior counselors began passing around something Tony couldn't see, Percy and Annabeth stood up in front of the Avengers.

"You may have noticed the bead necklaces Percy and I wear," Annabeth said. "At the end of each summer, we give out a new bead to each camper, something that represents the most important event of the summer."

"For example, when I came to camp and we all found out I'm Poseidon's son which is a big deal since he's not supposed to have any children, the bead was painted with a trident," Percy said, rolling one of his beads between his fingers. Tony had always wondered about their peculiar necklaces.

"We thought it only right that all of you get one, too," Annabeth finished with a smile.

The two of them distributed simple leather cords with a single bead on them to each of the Avengers. Tony was one of the last to get one, so he was very curious after hearing the few gasps and noticing some almost teary faces.

When he finally had his, Tony immediately understood why the others had reacted so strongly. His eyes were suddenly stinging as he stared down at his palm. The bead was very plain with a nice background in Tony's favorite shade of red—hot-rod. In the middle was a simple black "A" inscribed in a circle.

The symbol of the Avengers.

A/N: Quick logistic note—as I mentioned at the beginning of this story, Coulson originally had more time before he would die after season 5, but not much. That is why he appeared in this story but is now dead again.

Anyway, that's the end of Demigods Assemble! I hope you liked it, I had a blast writing it. I'm very happy with how it turned out and I hope you are, too!

music+literature