LIGHTNING ✔P.M. ₁

chapter fourteen

ROBIN FOLLOWED THE BILLIONAIRE DOWN a series of stairs and onto an open field. Once they arrived, he crossed his arms, leaning against the only tree nearby. He didn't bother trying to run away, knowing they could pull some Suicide Squad type shit on him and have implanted a tracker that will blow him up when he got out of line. He lived this long, he wasn't about to get killed like he would in a movie. "I'm not playing soccer, or football," He deadpanned as he scanned the field.

Tony chuckled. "No sports today, kid," He said, sparing him a glance. He faced his team, walking backwards a few steps. "Alright Avengers. I have a whole afternoon of team bonding planned. We'll start off with some Laser Tag, followed by an Escape Room, then we'll finish with Karaoke.," He explained.

"Then why are we in a field, Stark?" Natasha questioned, putting her hands on her hips.

The man shrugged, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Who said it's a field?" The scene around them changed, turning into a plain room.

Robin fell to the floor as the tree he was leaning against disappeared. He cursed under his breath while Pietro snickered at him. The pink-haired boy just flipped him off, barely acknowledging his reaction as he received a smirk.

Tony walked around his teammates, a remote control in his hand. "This room can be anything you want it to be." He paused and hummed to himself as he observed the group of heroes. "So, teams. Blue will be Steve, Pietro, Vision, Thor, Sam and Maria. Red team will be me, Natasha, Wanda, Clint, Bruce and Robin. Got it? And remember, no powers." He didn't wait for a response as he clicked a button on his remote, the room shifting into an area with a bunch of Laser Tag equipment.

They all got in their gear, and the room changed again, this time into a maze of sorts, with two stories and holes to shoot through in the walls. It was perfect to find a bunch of hiding places. Robin immediately set off, a smirk on his face. He held the gun up high, alert. He loved playing these types of games, as he use to do with his friends sometimes in the winter. Besides, a chance to shoot people for fun? Who would pass up on that?

He pulled the trigger as he spotted the familiar blue glow. He heard a groan as the person he shot had to wait five seconds before firing again. He grinned in content and went to find his next target. The game went on for around half an hour. His team ended up winning, and they moved onto the escape room. The timer read an hour. Somehow working together, the team found the clues they needed and managed to get out with thirteen minutes remaining. Robin refused to participate in the karaoke. He didn't sing. He had enough of that with Apollo, and the Cabin Seven kids.

He didn't stay out too late. Despite the, dare he say, fun activities, he still didn't trust them. They couldn't of thought an afternoon of entertainment as a team would get him to spill all of his secrets, could they?

He laid on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. The only sound in the room came from his soft breathing. The blinds on the window was closed, leaving him unable to see the night sky. He traced small patterns on the roof with his eyes. He payed no mind to the fact that he left without eating anything for dinner.

He heard a cough come from beside him. He shot up, hand going to the charm around his neck. He relaxed when he saw it was simply a Iris message. Annabeth was there, her boyfriend beside her. In her hands was a few newspaper articles.

"Okay, I didn't find anything in any of the myths, but there are a few articles about some attacks, mostly around the west. Nothing outside the US," She reported, shoving Percy's hand away when he tried to touch her hair.

Robin sat up on his bed, legs crossed. "Anything on how they operate?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, no."

Percy leaned in so his friend was able to see him. "We did find that they upgraded over the past few weeks," He piped in. His girlfriend nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, when they first started popping up, they were-"

"Just like zombies."

"...Sure, just like zombies," She agreed, causing the son of Poseidon to smile. "Over time, they become smarter and got weapons. I think they made them, or someone made them for them."

Robin hummed. "Yeah, I figured. Kinda shot me with their strange gun-things."

"What?!"

He smiled sheepishly. "Did I not mention that?" He pulled up his sleeve, showing the bandage on his shoulder. "I'm fine, don't worry." He paused, sighing as he dropped his arm again. "I've looked through all the books I could find relating to these creatures, but nothing - no theories or anything."

Annabeth sighed. "Where are you, Robin? We can get there, take you back to camp, and we'll figure this out."

Robin shook his head. "Don't. I'm stuck with these cosplaying superheroes. They have crazy technology and weapons, not to mention there's this so-called God of Thunder here too. You'll only hurt yourself."

Percy furrowed his eyebrows. That sounded like something he'd heard gossip about around school. "You mean the Avengers?"

Annabeth came to the same realization. "You were caught by the Avengers?!"

"Shit, am I the only one who didn't know about these guys until like, a month ago?" He asked rhetorically. He did not keep up with the latest news as much as he thought he did.

The two ignored him. "Holy Zeus, what were you thinking? You're stuck with them? That's really bad!" Percy exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air for effect.

"Robin, listen to me. You can't get on their bad side. Please, for the love of all the gods out there, be smart about this," Annabeth said sternly.

Robin gave her a look. "Do you even know me?" The couple returned his look. He pursed his lips. "Fine, I'll try. But just long enough to get out of here, then I'm back to not being nice to superheroes."

Annabeth nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer. "Good. Okay, we have to go, but we'll be in touch." Without so much as a goodbye, the connection was cut.