When Natasha walked into the kitchen after ten minutes of dealing with Clint and Tony, she didn't expect to see Percy look so... What was the word? It was hard to describe how the demigod looked to the assassin at the moment.

Percy Jackson sat at the large dining room table, cheek resting on his palm, as he gently tapped a blue cookie on a plate. His eyes had lost their sparkle, now dull and lifeless, sorrow lining the edges. His foot tapped the leg of his chair, looking utterly tired. He had small bags under his eyes, face pale, and his lips were set in a thin line.

Natasha watched as her teammate continued to tap the cookie on his plate, never actually eating it, in the same rhythm, recognizing it as Morse Code.

I- LOVE- YOU

Percy didn't even seemed to realize what he was doing, only staring off into space as millions of emotions flashed behind his sea-green orbs.

Percy Jackson, if Natasha had to chose a word, looked... Defeated.

"How long do you plan on just standing there staring at me?"

Natasha nearly started (didn't because she's just awesome like that) and turned to see Percy staring at her with dull green eyes. She simply pursed her lips, grabbing her mug from the cabinet and starting the coffee maker. She heard the demigod sigh and stand up, moving towards the fridge, not even fazed by Clint perched on top of it.

"Move back, Birdbrain," Percy muttered quietly. "I need to open the freezer."

"At six in the morning?" Clint asked, not moving his foot, which kept the door from being open.

"I said move," Percy growled, eyes flashing an emerald, and Clint quickly removed his leg, as if it caught on fire. Practically ripping the door open, Percy snatched his blueberry ice cream -the one carefully labeled 'Guppy' with a cute little smiley face by Tony Stark- and grabbed a spoon from the drawer. Flopping down on his seat again, the demigod stuffed ice cream in his mouth, glaring down at the tub and stabbing his spoon back into it.

Suddenly, there was a loud ringing noise and Percy growled, nearly dropping his tub of ice cream only to have Natasha catch it, and covered his ears, "What the hell?!"

Steve ran down the stairs two at a time, dressed in his Captain America suit. He looked over at Percy, who migrated to the small couch next to the window with his ice cream, shoulders hunched as he took another spoon of ice cream, "Are you going to... Suit up...?"

Percy stared at him for a moment before sighing and capping the tub, tossing it at Clint, who placed it in the freezer again. He stood up and rolled his shoulders, ignoring everyone for a moment as he popped his back. He rolled his head around and his body shimmered as water spun around him. Soon, his clothes changed to his signature black cloak and he pulled up his mask. His fingers tapped constantly on the pistol on his thigh.

"Show off," Clint muttered somewhere off to his right but Percy ignored him, guiding past him and over to Tony.

The genius didn't say anything, recognizing that broken look that he'd seen so many times in the mirror, and simply held out his arms. He rubbed the demigod's back soothingly as the younger burrowed his face in the crook of his neck. The nineteen year old's shoulders shook but no tears escaped him. He pulled back and looked into the sea-green eyes and smiled at the gratefulness in them. Sometimes, all you needed was to be held during your grief. Idly, he wondered when they got to the stage of hugging.

"I need a ride," Percy murmured, leaning his forehead against the billionaire's shoulder.

"What am I, a taxi?" Tony huffed but stepped back to allow the suit to envelope him.

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"Oh, you have got to be fucking with me!" Percy grumbled after he jumped from Tony's arms, rolling on the ground and ending in a kneeling position.

"Language," Steve replied automatically through the com link.

"Hush," Percy nearly snapped but didn't because Steve's puppy dog eyes were almost as effective as Thor's. He stared at the small army in front of him with contempt. There were hellhounds, dracnae, harpies, and cyclops, all ready to clobber his face. Eyeing all of them for a second, Percy hummed lowly before putting a finger on his com link, "Hulk and I got this batch. You guys take the rest."

"There's barely anything there!" Tony whined through the link.

"Oh, suck it up, Anthony. The big guy and I need to blow off some steam."

"Don't call me Anthony!"

"You know you love it."

There was no answer besides a small squeak.

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Percy didn't even bat an eye as the Hulk landed next to him, shaking the ground. He simply nodded in greeting, earning a grunt in return. Twirling Riptide expertly in his hand (uncapped), Percy made a 'come on' gesture, smirking slightly, "Well?"

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Tony didn't know what happened but he knew something big went down if Hulk was restraining Percy, who looked royally pissed, clawing at the big arms holding him in place.

"Let me go!" Percy shouted, punching Hulk on his arms, "Let me go! I'll kill them! I'll kill them!" He slammed his head repeatedly on the Hulk's chest, sounding broken as he continued to shout, "They'll pay! How dare they?! I'll kill them! How dare they mention them?! How..." Percy suddenly deflated, hanging his head as he whispered, "I... I miss them..."

Hulk just grunted, pulling the demigod closer to him with surprising gentleness,

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"What the hell happened?!" Clint shouted once they returned to the tower and Percy retreated to his room.

"I don't know," Tony sighed, wishing for an alcohol at the moment.

"I do," Natasha said with a soft voice. She sat down before beginning to retell what she saw.

---------------

"Oh, so close!" Percy taunted as he dodged a swipe from a dracnae. He danced around the strikes, laughing when the monsters got angry.

"You pretend to be alright," One of the weird-looking monsters sneered at him, letting her claws hang down. "But we all know the truth. You've never been the same since Lady Gaea killed your precious 'Wise Girl' and your stupid friends. They were nothing and des-" She choked on her words when she found a hand around her throat, squeezing the air from her lungs.

"How dare you mention them," Percy growled, eyes a dangerous emerald as he glared harshly at her. "How dare you mention her."

"I-" He words were cut off, quite literally, when Percy decapitated her, causing her to explode in gold dust.

Snarling, the demigod turned to the other monsters and the ground shook violently, the water sloshing viciously on the shoreline. "YOU'RE DEAD!"

After killing all of the monsters, Percy looked around wildly for anymore. His shoulders were shaking and his eyes were wide and he just looked so broken. He started when two massive arms wrapped around him when he was about to take off and slammed his head on Hulk's chest, "Let me go!" His voice cracked and tears lined his eyes., "Let me go!"