Hey guys! The next five chapters are about the time between CA:WS and A:AOU. This chapter in particular is also about the time period between the Agents of SHIELD episode "Turn, Turn, Turn" up to the end of Season 1. It's a lot less plot-heavy! Actually, this chapter doesn't have much plot at all. Just a tiny bit, intermixed with filler. Well, I guess there's a ton of character development as well. Oh, and just so you know, the story is going to get a bit darker as it progresses. R&R! - Spathi

Bruce's P.O.V

It was already night. Natasha had just gotten back from D.C., and she looked physically and emotionally drained. He wasn't quite sure what to do when she stumbled through the doors of his lab, and collapsed at a table. She groaned, resting her head on the desk. He absently noticed that she was wearing a jacket over a tank top, and jeans.

After a minute of just watching Natasha, who didn't move from her position at all, he had an idea. He went over to a cabinet, removing a side panel, and grabbed a small vial of nectar. Then, he went over to his personal coffee maker and poured a cup, adding in the nectar, as well as a bit of Irish cream. Bruce went back over to the woman slumped over the desk, and put the coffee down in front of her.

"Thanks." she muttered as she took a sip. Her eyes widened, and she took a bigger gulp. He laughed a little at that. He noticed that her shoulder was bleeding a little bit. He suddenly remembered seeing a video of her getting attacked by the Winter Soldier. She had been shot in the shoulder, hadn't she?

"May I?" He asked, gesturing towards her shoulder. She shrugged off her jacket, and he carefully slipped the straps of her tank top and bra off her shoulder, peeling them downwards a bit so that he could see the wound. It had been stitched up, but not well enough, and she had popped several of the stitches. The scientist grabbed a small pair of scissors, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and another bottle of nectar. He carefully cleaned the wound and cut the stitches. While doing that, he inspected the wound again. She seemed to have fractured it, at the very least, and the muscle seemed to be damaged badly.

"How had she helped Steve take down three helicarriers with this wound? She's lucky the arteries weren't damaged." the doctor thought. He finished taking care of the wound, and then sterilized it with the hydrogen peroxide. Natasha's face didn't change, but he felt her tense. If he hadn't been touching her, he wouldn't have noticed at all. He quickly realized that the stitches probably wouldn't hold.

"I think I'm going to have to cauterize it." he said. Natasha nodded silently. He retrieved a small tool used for cauterizing wounds, and switched it on.

"I'm going to start cauterizing it on the count of three, okay? 1...2...3!" He brought the tool close enough to her skin that it started to burn it, noting that Natasha barely flinched. She seemed really out of it. Once he was done, he picked up the bottle of nectar, and poured it over the wound. He looked at her.

"Usually, a wound like this would take two to three weeks for it to heal. Factoring in our heritage, and the fact that it's you, I don't want you to do anything that stresses this shoulder for at least three days. I'd prefer a week, but that's probably not happening. So three days. Just in case." he said firmly.

"Whatever you say, doc." she said in a rather husky tone. His brain stuttered slightly, and then rebooted slowly.

"Um. So, yeah. Just- yeah. Right." Bruce was sure he was blushing. Natasha patted him on the shoulder as she got out of the chair. She pecked him on the cheek, causing him to redden further.

"Bye, Bruce." she said, winking. By now, Bruce was pretty sure he looked as red as a tomato. He stared after her, stupefied.

Natasha's P.O.V.

She laughed to herself as she walked away. The man could pretend to be her Texan biker boyfriend in the middle of Central Park with ease, yet a kiss on the cheek flustered him. She headed up to her room, and collapsed on her bed, groaning. After a couple minutes, she'd drifted off to sleep.

She found herself floating in something that wasn't quite darkness, and it was a strange feeling. She could not sense anything, and somehow, she felt free. Her physical body didn't burden her and her emotional trauma didn't lurk at the back of her mind. Instead, her soul was simply untethered, just being in the middle of nothingness. And then, her empty surroundings shifted to a dark gray.

Tendrils of shadow reached for her out of nowhere, and wrapped themselves around her. They coiled around her like snakes, slowly constricting her, until the inky blackness swallowed her whole. The pressure began to build, and Natasha was unable to breathe. Finally, the shadows receded, and she fell to the ground, gasping for air. Frost spread across the ground, and then disappeared as quickly as it had come. A blinding bolt of pain flashed through Natasha's body, and she woke up.

She sat up in her bed, breathing hard and utterly confused as to what had just happened. She glanced at the clock, which told her she'd been asleep for twelve hours, and then looked at the window, which had a message written in ice on it, visible in the light of dawn.

As promised, I have given you a gift. - Hodur.

She looked at it in confusion. After failing to decipher it, she decided to lie back down, simply staring at the ceiling. Soon, she noticed that something seemed off. Instead of the room getting lighter as the sun rose, the room seemed to be getting darker. Natasha frowned and sat up.

If she hadn't been trained so well, her mouth would have fell open in shock.

She couldn't see the window anymore. In fact, she could barely see anything. The room was pitch black.

"Am I causing this?" she wondered. She imagined the darkness shrinking away. After a couple seconds, the shadows receded, and the room looked normal again.

"What the actual Hades?" she thought. She got to her feet, moving to her dresser and changing into a t-shirt and jeans. She ignored the twinge of pain in her shoulder, instead making sure she looked presentable. Once that was done, she mind-messaged her brother.

"I haven't seen you in a while. Mind if I visit?" she asked.

"Not at all! You can help me explain C.H.A.O.S. to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents." he replied. Natasha furrowed her brows in confusion.

"C.H.A.O.S.?" she thought back.

"Okay, maybe you can't. But they'll trust you more." he said.

"Lex, what's C.H.A.O.S.?" she pressed.

"I'll explain it to you once we get there." Percy responded, and Natasha whipped around. He was wearing his Scorpion gear, which concerned her slightly.

"I'll hold you to that." she threatened her brother, who grinned, and held out a hand. She took it, and they disappeared into mist.

They landed in the middle of a room full of people. Everybody stopped and stared. Natasha took the opportunity to survey her surroundings, and then froze when she noticed a logo on the wall.

"You didn't." she mumbled in Russian. There was no way.

"I did." he responded in the same language. Natasha whirled around, facing him.

"You did not set up an organization built for helping people in less than 24 freaking hours." she hissed in disbelief.

"I believe I did." Percy said smugly.

"How- you are a freaking genius." Natasha breathed out. Percy smiled, and explained the basis of the organization to her. Once he was finished, Natasha looked around again. The people she now recognized as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were still staring.

"If it isn't Natasha Romanoff herself." someone called, and she turned in that direction, grinning broadly.

"Tori!" she yelled back, seeing the familiar face of one of her S.O.'s closest friends making her way through the crowd.

"This explains a lot, you know." Victoria Hand said.

"How so?" she asked.

"Well, when your friend over here showed up in Alaska, he was able to pull off a routine that I'd only seen you and your S.O. do once before, and he and May were able to pull it off perfectly." she replied. Natasha raised an eyebrow at Percy.

"You didn't tell me about that." she accused playfully.

"This was like an hour or two after I left you that car outside of the mall." he returned, shrugging. Natasha nodded in understanding.

"You can take off the mask here. Just tell them your name is Alexios." she suggested in Latin.

"As you wish." he agreed. He deactivated his gear, and turned to everyone.

"Hey, everyone. You might know me as the Sea Scorpion. I'd prefer you call me Alexios. Or just Alex." All of the agents gave him their undivided attention as he explained C.H.A.O.S. They kept listening attentively as he explained what would happen to them once they'd made their choice between staying and leaving. All the while, Tori was boring a hole into the side of Natasha's head with her eyes, demanding to know how she knew Percy.

Once Percy finished speaking, he asked the people who wanted to leave to raise their hands. To the siblings' surprise, not one person raised their hand.

"Really? That's great!" Percy exclaimed, and a ripple of laughter rolled through the crowd. One agent stepped forward.

"The idea of the agency sounds good. What I want to know is how good of a fighter you are. You look pretty young. How old are you, anyways?" the man said. He was a stocky guy, with an arrogant glint in his eye. Natasha suspected that the man was a loyal agent, but just got big-headed at times.

"Nineteen. Got a problem?" Percy replied, smirking dangerously.

"Nineteen? This kid wants to lead us, and he's nineteen." the man scoffed. The crowd murmured slightly.

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." Percy retorted. The man raised his eyebrows condescendingly.

"Mark Twain." Percy added, his smirk transforming from dangerous to downright predatory. Natasha mentally congratulated both herself and the goddess Lupa for teaching Percy how to terrify people. The man shifted backwards slightly, but didn't back down.

"So, everything you know about fighting is from books?" the man challenged. Percy snorted.

"Yeah, no. I learned it from a great teacher, as well as through experience." the son of the sea responded.

"Oh, a great teacher, huh? Yeah, I bet that teacher was amazing, kiddo. Taught you everything there is about fighting. Where'd they get their knowledge, huh? A couple of martial arts classes?" the man said insultingly. Percy's eyes flashed, and Natasha decided it was time to speak up.

"I feel highly offended. Do you mean to imply that I was trained in some random martial arts studio? I think a quick search on the internet would prove otherwise. I might not be that proud of my past, but if there's one thing I can do, it's fight. So I dare you to say that again." Natasha said in a smooth, saccharine tone, stepping forward. The man paled drastically, and stumbled backwards as she stalked towards him, stopping by Percy's side. All of the agents looked surprised. The room was dead silent.

"Right, so the bunks are down that way. Ladies on the left, guys on the right." Percy said, pointing. The agents started moving off, muttering amongst themselves. Percy grabbed Natasha's arm, and pulled them in a different direction. He kept leading them through the ship until they stopped in a gigantic training room. Percy moved to the back of the room, and pressed his palm to the wall, revealing a doorway leading to another room.

"Demigods only." he explained.

"Really?" she questioned.

"Yeah, Hand's one too. Daughter of Aphrodite." he said nonchalantly. Natasha was slightly surprised.

"I'm probably going to tell her about our ties." she said, referring to Victoria.

"You mean you being my adoptive sister?" he clarified.

"Yeah, although I'll have to explain that it's not official..." Natasha trailed off.

"About that..." Percy started.

"What is it, Lex?" She turned to Percy, who looked slightly nervous.

"Mom and Paul recently completed adopting a person named Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, so technically, you are my officially adopted sister." Percy revealed. Natasha stared.

"How'd you get the paperwork?" she questioned.

"Well, a while back, I found an empty base in Russia, which I searched. While doing that, I found a couple files. I didn't understand any of them, except for a birth certificate with the name Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova on it. You share the same birth date, except that Anastasia is two years younger than you. But other things in the files proved that it was you. So I brought the certificate to Mom and Paul." Percy started explaining. Natasha's eyes were wide in shock.

"Then, when you were on the run from Hydra, I found a base in Siberia with cryogenically frozen people in them. And with the files I found there, I finally pieced together the truth." He swallowed heavily. Natasha motioned for him to keep going.

"The House of Romanov was killed off way back in 1918. All except for one. Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, who was 17 at the time. She managed to escape the execution, and run off. In 1933, she got pregnant. But just as she was about to have her child, she was captured by the KGB, and put into a cryogenic chamber." Natasha was shaking, and Percy was struggling to keep talking.

"In 1982, they took the Grand Duchess out, and her child was born. Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova II. That was when you were technically born. But the KGB made you into a different person. For two years, they kept the newborn you from aging a day, and experimented on you. They modified your genetic structure, and injected you with the serum. They even changed your appearance. Of course, your DNA still matches up with your mother's, but they managed to manipulate it until they had exactly what they wanted. The day you should have turned two was the day they declared was your birthday. So even though you're turning 31, you'll have technically only aged for 29 of those years." Percy explained.

"You're telling me that I'm physically 28, but I'm both mentally and biologically 30? And that I'm the heir to the Romanov house?" Natasha asked, wanting to make sure.

"Yes." Percy said.

"So, the birth certificate has the birth date of my genetically enhanced self on it?" Natasha asked.

"That's right." Percy confirmed. Natasha took a deep breath, and Percy put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"Okay. I'll keep that birthdate. November 22, 1984. But the age I'll give people is the one I've always thought I was. I'm thirty." she decided. There was a heavy silence in the air, before Natasha pivoted sharply towards Percy, having had a realization.

" I'm officially your older sister!" she exclaimed. Percy grinned.

"You always have been. And you know, even your birth mom had a younger brother named Alexei. And better yet, you're royalty!" he laughed. She enveloped him in a tight hug. A single tear ran down her face. She burrowed her face into her younger brother's shirt, feeling ridiculously happy. The fact that she was officially Percy's older sister was a great thing to hear after the stressful couple of days she'd had.

"Um, Natasha?" Percy asked.

"Hmm?" she replied non-verbally.

"Why is the room getting really dark?" She looked up, and realized that Percy was right.

"That's one of the reasons I wanted to visit. I got this power from Hodur, and I have no clue as to how to control it." she replied.

"Well, practice makes perfect! We can get started right now!" her younger brother said, a wide smile stretched across his face.

"Thank you, little brother." She returned the grin.

"No problem, big sis!" he chirped. He then ducked in protest as she ruffled his hair.

"Hey!" he complained. Natasha laughed. She felt freer than she had in a while, and she had her younger sibling to thank for that.

Bruce P.O.V.

Forget being concerned. Bruce was absolutely worried now. J.A.R.V.I.S. had informed him that Natasha was not anywhere in the tower. He checked her room to see if she'd left, but her stuff was still there. He immediately ran to the lab, pulling up all security feeds from around the tower and city, trying to figure out what had happened to her. Thirty minutes into his search, Tony stumbled into the lab, yawning.

"Hey, Brucie!" he greeted cheerfully. Bruce grunted a reply, scanning the feeds intently. Tony frowned.

"Who are you looking for?" the billionaire questioned. Bruce didn't respond, instead switching the feeds to those from the cameras on Natasha's floor. Tony opened his mouth to say something, presumably about him looking for Natasha, when a familiar voice spoke up.

"Morning, boys." Natasha drawled from the doorway.

"Where have you been?" Bruce demanded, wiping away the feeds and storming over to her.

"I went out of the tower for like two hours to go for a run, and check in with a contact. Is there a problem with that?" Natasha defended. Bruce slumped into a chair.

"Jeez, Natasha. Give a guy a warning next time. I thought you'd been kidnapped, or had decided to flee the country on a whim." the scientist groaned. Natasha's facial expression softened. Tony decided to speak up.

"How long have you been in the tower anyways? And why didn't J.A.R.V.I.S. warn me?" he complained.

"Since last night. And J.A.R.V.I.S. hasn't been warning you about everything I do because he likes me." Natasha replied.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.! You've betrayed me!" Tony wailed melodramatically, marching over to the doors of the lab. In response, the lab doors slammed shut.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.? Open the lab doors so that I can storm out in a fit of anger." Tony ordered.

"I'm sorry, Tony. I'm afraid I can't do that." J.A.R.V.I.S. deadpanned.

"Don't go all HAL on me, J.A.R.V.I.S." Tony pleaded. Bruce glanced over at Natasha, a slightly nervous look in his eyes. Natasha winked, and gestured for Bruce to come closer. She moved her fingers slightly, and the lights in the lab started to flicker. Bruce felt her grab his hand, and then felt an odd sensation. It felt as if Bruce had stepped onto a rollercoaster in very cold weather. When his vision cleared, they were standing on the other side of the lab doors, looking in at Tony.

"How did she do that?" he wondered.

The lights stopped flickering, and Tony froze, staring at them. The billionaire ran up to the doors, and started pounding on them. Natasha laughed darkly, and the lights went out again. She grabbed Bruce's hand once more, and he felt the icy rollercoaster sensation again. He looked around, and found himself in the security room of the tower. Natasha stumbled as they landed, and Bruce caught her. The assassin yawned.

"I'm going to pass out for about three hours. Keep an eye on Tony, will you? Mess with him a bit. I'd hate to have set him up and not be able to enjoy it for as long as possible." she said, before closing her eyes and falling asleep in Bruce's arms. He stared at her sleeping form in shock, before snapping out of it. He gently laid her down on the ground before heading over to the computers, pulling up the feed from the lab. He could see Tony freaking out.

"I don't know how you pulled off that paranormal stuff, but I don't like it, Romanoff! And Bruce, I trusted you!!" he shrieked. Bruce ran to his room, retrieving some tools and materials, before sprinting back to the security room. He worked for a couple minutes, creating a little machine that could project a realistic hologram from it. He attached the machine to a tiny helicopter with a camera mounted on it, popped open an air conditioning duct, and flew the entire gadget down to the lab.

He flicked the on switch. He watched Tony shriek as Nick Fury appeared.

"I don't believe in ghosts." was the first thing out of Tony's mouth.

"You dealt with an alien invasion last year, and you're telling me you don't believe in ghosts? Well, guess what, Stark! I'm dead. And I'm gonna use my afterlife following you around and being a pain in the ass. Call it payback." 'Fury' retorted. Bruce switched the lights back on in the lab, simultaneously turning off the projection.

"Okay, then. I obviously need to sleep more." Tony muttered. He then turned his efforts towards getting out of the lab. Meanwhile, Bruce built a pair of contacts which were as thin as plastic wrap, as well as a pair of radio implants. The contacts would create the projection, like virtual reality glasses. And the implants would provide the sound of the projection to Tony, so that it sounded normal, but only Tony could hear it. But he wasn't building these things for the sole purpose of pranking Tony. This would allow him to communicate with Tony without anybody else seeing or hearing his side of the conversation. Of course, Tony might look a tiny bit insane, but everybody seemed to think he was mental, anyways.

Upon finally finishing his devices, he had J.A.R.V.I.S. gas the lab with tranquilizers. Tony slumped over, and Bruce hurried downstairs. The doors opened automatically as he approached. Bruce went over to the billionaire, prying open both of his eyes, and sticking both contacts in. He then cut a miniscule incision in both of Tony's ears, and stuck the miniature implants in. He used medical glue to cover up the cuts, and hurried upstairs again. J.A.R.V.I.S. shut off the lights again. Bruce then deleted the footage of him and Natasha in the lab, as well as the footage of 'Fury' appearing, replacing it with footage of Tony sleeping. He also wiped all footage of Tony from before he entered the lab, replacing it with empty shots of the same areas. This would confuse Tony because he wouldn't know what was in his head, and what was real. The prank had the added bonuses of testing out the communication device as well as eventually training Tony not to react so obviously, lest people think him crazy.

The billionaire woke up about 10 minutes later. Bruce smirked, and turned the contacts on. On the feeds, he could see Tony jump, startled. But there was nobody in front of him.

"Oh, great. You're back." Tony groaned. Bruce smiled and had 'Fury' say something to the effect of: Of course I'm back. I said I'd haunt you, didn't I. But I don't plan on staying dead too long, so I'll probably send someone else after a couple weeks.

"Stop. Go away." Tony rubbed his eyes, which didn't help. 'Fury' kept talking while Bruce started building a wristwatch that would allow him to control the program. This was possible because 'Fury' was an A.I. like J.A.R.V.I.S., except keyed with Nick Fury's voice patterns and expected behavior.

Soon, Natasha woke up. She sat up, and glanced over at Bruce expectantly. He motioned towards the computer screens, where Tony could clearly be seen arguing with nobody.

"Go away already!!!" There was a pause, and Tony made an annoyed expression.

"I'm not listening!!" he yelled, sticking his fingers in his ears and closing his eyes. He opened one a minute later, and sighed.

"Can you please let me out of the lab?" he asked. Bruce finished the wristwatch, and had 'Fury' snap his fingers. The lights flickered on in the lab, and the doors slipped open.

"What did you do to Stark?" Natasha asked. Bruce grinned mischiveously.

"He thinks Fury is now haunting him. The best part is that no one else can see or hear Fury. And with you being able to control J.A.R.V.I.S., 'Fury' can cause weird things to happen within the tower. The devices double as backup communication." he explained. Natasha burst out laughing.

"That's genius." she giggled. She stood, and gestured for Bruce to follow her.

"We should probably go somewhere else, so that when Tony comes looking for us, we won't be sitting in the security room." she suggested. Bruce nodded his agreement, and moved to follow, only stopping briefly to cause 'Fury' to be annoying. They went down to the common area, and sat on the couch, switching on the TV. The movie that was playing was titled Just Like Heaven. After a couple seconds, Natasha smiled like the Chesire Cat, and Bruce snickered.

"Why are you laughing?" Natasha asked.

"I'm laughing at the irony of the main character being able to see a ghost that no one else can. Why are you smiling?" Bruce responded.

"The main character looks exactly like you!" Natasha replied. Bruce glanced at the screen to realize that she was right.

"That's kind of weird." he commented. Tony ran into the room.

"How'd you guys disappear from the lab?" he questioned. Bruce and Natasha both slid puzzled expressions onto their faces.

"Uh, Tony? First of all, Natasha just got here. And I was never in the lab. I was in my room. But then, J.A.R.V.I.S. told me Natasha was here, so I went to greet her." Bruce lied. Tony looked confused.

"Wait, but-" he glanced at the empty air next to him. Then, Tony turned his face towards the ceiling.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.? Is this true?" the billionaire asked.

"Yes." J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. Tony looked even more confused. Again, his attention was drawn to the empty space to his left.

"Stop doing that." Tony hissed.

"Tony? Who are you talking to?" Natasha asked. Tony looked at her suspiciously. Then, his gaze shifted to Bruce. Bruce bit his tongue to keep from laughing. Once Tony realized Bruce and Natasha didn't seem to have any idea what was going on, he averted his gaze.

"Uh, I need to go." Tony said, his face pale. Bruce watched in amusement as the billionaire rushed out of the room. Once he was sure Tony was gone, Bruce started chuckling. He switched 'Fury' off, and settled into the couch.

"I kind of feel bad, but kind of don't at the same time." Natasha stated with a straight face. Bruce had to agree with her on that. His face suddenly turned serious as he caught sight of her shoulder.

"How's that healing up?" he asked, gesturing to the injury.

"Pretty good. But I'm getting bored because I can't even train." she replied. Suddenly, Bruce had an idea on how to alleviate that boredom.

"Meet me in the garage in 10 minutes." he said, jumping to his feet. Natasha looked confused but nodded anyways. Bruce went to his room and changed into jeans, a t-shirt, and a thick jacket. He told J.A.R.V.I.S. to tell Tony that they were heading out, and then rode the elevator down to the garage. Stepping out, he moved over to the corner of the garage, where he'd been working on a vehicle for several months. It was covered by a sheet. Natasha arrived, and walked over.

"Is this our ride?" she wondered.

"Yup." Bruce confirmed, pulling off the sheet to reveal a sleek black Kawasaki Ninja that he had tinkered with extensively. He pulled out two helmets, clipping one on, and handing the other one to Natasha. She put it on as he swung a leg over the bike, hopping on behind him. He started up the motorcycle, and sped out of the garage.

For half an hour, Bruce simply enjoyed the feeling of Natasha's arms wrapped around his waist as wind rushed past them, steering the motorcycle around New York aimlessly. After a while, he started moving towards Long Island. Natasha gasped as Bruce drove the bike straight into the forest, and expertly wove between the trees, which were spaced just far enough apart to allow his bike to slip through. They hit the beach, and Bruce kept the bike moving even as they went straight for the water. The bike simply rode on top of the waves as they headed off shore, and Bruce could hear Natasha laughing in delight behind him. He used the high tides to pull off tricks, such as jumps, sharp turns, and even a couple of spins through the air. He spotted Camp Half-Blood's firework beach, and turned towards it, surprising several campers as they spotted the motorcycle hurtling towards the shore. Bruce kept the bike steady as it roared onto the sand, speeding straight past the climbing wall, and pulling a front wheelie right as they entered the area right in front of the mess hall. He spun the bike around a few times as it balanced on the front wheel, and then landed, shutting off the bike, and helping Natasha off.

"I did not know you were that good at riding motorcycles." she said, pulling off her helmet. Bruce grinned, taking off his helmet as well. They hung the helmets on the handlebars of the bikes. Then, the duo heard applause.

"That was awesome, Bruce!" he heard Leo shout. Demigods started surging towards them, and Bruce shared a glance with Natasha.

"Whoops." he thought as they were mobbed.

Natasha's P.O.V.

Bruce taking her out on a joyride was pretty surprising. The fact that they ended up at Camp Half-Blood was even more so.

"Why are we here?" she asked Bruce as they walked by the canoe lake. He smiled at her.

"There are several reasons. First off, they can probably take care of that shoulder completely. Secondly, technology is dangerous for them, so they aren't going to judge you on whatever you released on the internet. And lastly, you don't have to hide around them." Bruce explained. At the mention of the files, Natasha's face dropped.

"You've read them." she said, staring at the ground. Bruce seemed to understand what she was referring to.

"No. But the news channels keep accusing you of things, so I assume that you had a dark past. Which I already knew. All of the Avengers have demons, so I could hardly care less about what they're saying about you." he answered. Natasha looked up in surprise.

"Really?" she asked, hating how her voice wavered slightly. Bruce cupped her chin, and gently angled her face towards him.

"I know you, Natasha Romanoff. I know that you're a good person because you've spent so much time trying to make up for your past. And I've spent enough time with you to look past the mantle of Black Widow and see you for who you really are. You are amazing, Natasha. Don't ever think otherwise." he said firmly, his gaze steady and intense.

Natasha bit her lip, and averted her eyes. She knew she was blushing slightly. Bruce released her face, and grabbed her hand, pulling her along. She caught sight of his face, and realized he was blushing slightly as well. She let Bruce drag her to the infirmary, where a child of Apollo who introduced himself as Will Solace healed her shoulder instantly. Then, they headed down to the arena. They simply watched demigods practice for a while, Natasha leaning slightly into Bruce as they observed. Eventually the prophesied Seven (sans Percy) as well as Nico approached them.

"We want to spar with you guys. All at the same time. To make it fair, we won't be using any weapons, just hand to hand combat, as well as powers. However, you two can use weapons if you want. It's a teamwork exercise for us, and you two are Avengers, so you probably won't have any trouble with it." Jason said. Natasha glanced at Bruce.

"I'm up for it if you are." he said, surprising her. She smirked, and got to her feet.

"Okay." she agreed. Annabeth frowned and turned towards Bruce.

"Do you have a weapon?" she wondered. Bruce shrugged.

"Yes, but I don't feel like using it." he replied.

"What about you?" Frank asked Natasha. She smiled, and flicked her wrist, summoning the dagger Percy had made for her from her tattoo.

"Right, so here are the rules. Our side can't use weapons, but you two can. However, use of the surrounding area is allowed, so using something as a makeshift weapons is permitted. Mounts, vehicles, pets, magical items, and minions are also permitted. Powers are absolutely allowed. And defeating someone entails knocking them out completely." Annabeth listed. Everybody agreed, and the two teams moved to opposite sides of the arena. All of the other demigods had moved to the seats, eager to watch the match.

Natasha mentally reviewed her team's advantages. They'd obviously allowed her and Bruce to use weapons because as far as they were aware, neither Bruce nor her had any powers. That meant that they wouldn't expect her to be able to manipulate the shadows, nor call upon Mars' blessing. She knew she outclassed the demigods in hand-to-hand combat. She also had a feeling that Bruce had a couple aces up his sleeve. But she knew that she'd have to watch out for their powers, which could be pretty destructive. Still, she was feeling pretty good about this duel.

A horn sounded, and the demigods rushed them. Annabeth, Nico, Piper, and Hazel ran towards her, while Frank, Jason, and Leo ran towards Bruce. Piper yelled for her to freeze, but Natasha had resisted enough brainwashing tactics and compulsion drugs to completely shrug off the magical influence, instead sprinting towards Nico. He put his palm to the ground, and summoned an army of skeletons. She brought out her knife, and stabbed the first one, flipping over it, and smashing her foot into a second one's skull. Natasha reached out and stole an arm bone, smacking another skeleton skull straight off of its shoulders and right into Hazel's stomach. Suddenly, she realized that she couldn't see Annabeth. She whipped around and dropped to the ground on a whim, straightening her leg and bringing it around in a low sweep. There was a grunt, and Annabeth shimmered into existence briefly as her hat slipped loose.

She glanced over at Bruce to see how he was doing, and saw him block a swipe from a grizzly bear with his left hand. The blow didn't even move him back an inch. Leo slammed a fiery punch into his rib cage, which didn't faze him either. Everybody stared.

"Well, that answers my question as to whether Bruce has enhanced strength. And it looks like he's fireproof as well." she thought. Leo set himself completely on fire, but Bruce ignored the flames, picking the younger demigod up by the neck and tossing him towards Jason.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blur of movement, and automatically ducked, only to get tackled by Nico. Falling backwards, she melted into the shadows, dragging Nico with her. They popped out of Hazel's shadow, and Natasha kicked outwards with both feet as she tucked into a backflip, launching Nico straight into the air. Before she landed, she managed to wrap her legs around Hazel's neck, managing to take the daughter of Pluto down temporarily. She rolled to her feet and slammed the hilt of her dagger into Piper's head, knocking her out. She cursed as Nico, wielding a piece of wood, landed a blow to her stomach. She stumbled backwards and purposely fell on her back, pretending to wheeze heavily. Just above her head, she could see a wooden training dummy. Above that, there was a flexible pole suspended parallel to the round. She stayed where she was, a plan forming in her mind. As Nico ran towards her to deliver a second blow, she rolled back into a handstand and pushed off the ground as hard as she could, landing neatly on top of the dummy. She immediately sprang up towards the pole, swinging around it, and upwards. Tucking into a flip, she touched down on top of the pole, and then leaped up, using the elasticity of the pole to gain more height. She tuned out the sharp intakes of breath from the spectators as she started to fall head-first towards the ground, concentrating on bringing her cuffs out in front of her.

"1...2...3..." she counted in her head, and then she shoved her hands downwards, creating the usual expanding wave of energy. The red energy shot outwards in a circle, causing a couple of the Seven to be blasted backwards. This had the added effect of slowing her just enough so that she landed lightly in a crouch at the epicenter of her energy blast.

"Gotta love science!" she thought, as she straightened up. Then, she ran towards Frank, who was still a grizzly bear, and jumped on his back, wrapping her arm around his neck and starting to choke him. Frank thrashed, collapsing to his stomach and rolling over. She would have been crushed by 1000 pounds of grizzy bear had she not shadow-traveled once more. She heard gasps as the demigods realized that she had used a power only children of Hades had.

When they emerged from the shadows, Natasha concentrated, summoning Mars' blessing and starting to glow red. She had no idea why she could call upon his blessing so often, but it was pretty useful. Frank tried to transform into a larger animal, but Natasha's grip was so strong that it failed. He morphed back into a human and passed out. Natasha released him, and got to her feet. She wished she hadn't shadow-traveled twice in about 10 minutes, but she was determined to finish this battle. She saw that Leo was lying unconscious on the ground, and so was Annabeth. She started moving towards Jason, but stopped suddenly, sensing that something was wrong. She spun around, and saw Bruce stumbling backwards. Hazel looked confused, her hands outstretched in front of her. She ran over, her exhaustion forgotten as Bruce dropped to his knees, groaning. He started turning green, and people started to panic.

"Run." he hissed, looking straight at her. She swallowed heavily, and crouched in front of him, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

"I'm not going anywhere." she said firmly. Bruce's glowing green eyes flashed with pain and sadness.

"I'm sorry." he mouthed. And then, he transformed. The change looked painful, his veins shot with green as his muscles swelled, his groans becoming animalistic and harsh. She could see that his teeth were clenched tightly, and every muscle in his body was tense. Soon, the Hulk towered over her, and he let out a mighty roar, turning his head towards the sky.

He snorted, and turned to the demigods, who had all gone still. Somone threw a celestial bronze sword at him, which bounced off. He pounded the ground in rage. Natasha rolled through the Hulk's legs, pulling out her dagger to slice at his ankles. To her surprise, the blade actually cut through his skin, causing the Hulk to bleed. He turned hateful eyes on her. Her mind whirled, looking for options, before she suddenly remembered that she was wearing her cuffs. She slammed them together for the second time that battle and shoved outwards just as the Hulk tried to smack her with his hand. The blast managed to blow the Hulk backwards, causing him to fall onto his back. Natasha took the opportunity to leap on top of his chest, slamming her fist downwards onto his solarplex.

"We're all friends here." she said. Hulk grumbled, and reached up to brush her off his chest. Natasha gave him her best glare. He paused, cocking his head curiously. She kept glaring, and he actually smiled, looking highly amused. She crossed her arms.

"No smashing. Not today." she told him. Hulk blinked once, and then sat up slowly, picking her up gently, and placing her on the ground. She crouched, extending her palm.

"Hey, big guy. The sun's getting real low." she coaxed. Hulk's shoulders slumped slightly, and he looked at her sadly. He reached out, and brushed the tip of his finger along her jawline. Then, he offered his hand to her, ready to perform the lullaby. She trailed her fingers down his palm, and then tapped his pulse point. For a couple of seconds, nothing happened. Then, he stumbled back, slowly shrinking back into the scientist she knew. A camper ran up, and handed her a CHB shirt. She accepted it with a nod, and walked towards Bruce, who was just finishing his transformation.

"Welcome back, Bruce." she said, tossing him the shirt. It seemed that his pants had somehow remained intact, which was good. Bruce pulled on the shirt, groaning.

"What did I destroy this time?" he asked sullenly.

"Absolutely nothing." she responded, helping the scientist to his feet. He stumbled slightly, and then turned to blink at her in confusion.

"Nothing?" he questioned.

"Nothing." she confirmed. Bruce grunted, and started walking. He paused, and looked at his legs.

"Why am I bleeding?" he wondered. Natasha winced.

"As it turns out, my knife can cut through the other guy's skin. I might have sliced at your ankles." she said apologetically. Bruce's eyebrows rose.

"I'm not even going to ask what that thing is made of." he muttered, inspecting the cuts, which were already closing. She laughed slightly, and then realized all of the demigods were staring.

"We should head back to the tower." she suggested.

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea." he agreed. They waved at the demigods, and quickly walked out of the arena, returning to Bruce's motorcycle. She handed Bruce his helmet, and hopped on the motorcycle, putting her own helmet on as she went. Bruce got on behind her, and she started up the engine, roaring out of the camp and onto the road. As they went through the city, Natasha could feel Bruce's muscles relaxing more and more. By the time they arrived at the garage, Bruce was half-asleep on her shoulder. She supported him as they entered the elevator, using her other arm to push the button for his floor. The doors opened on Tony's level.

"What happened to you two? You look like crap!" Tony said, a concerned look on his face.

"He hulked out in the middle of the forest. I had to play a game of hide and seek tag with him before I could calm him down." Natasha explained tiredly.

"Well, you didn't make the news, which is a miracle, Romanoff." Tony responded. Then, his gaze traveled down.

"Why does he have blood on his legs?" the billionaire questioned.

"It's what caused him to hulk out. A bear got mad and clawed him. He's fine, though." she lied. There had been a bear, by the name of Frank, but she knew that wasn't why he'd hulked out. Hazel had done something. Tony nodded in understanding, and the elevator finally reached Bruce's floor. She thanked the gods that Tony didn't ask about the shirt. Brushing off Tony's offers of help, she got Bruce to his room and into his bed.

"Why did you hulk out?" she asked as he began to drift off to sleep.

"Thought I'd attacked you. Brought back some bad memories." he yawned. Natasha had a feeling she knew what memories he might be referring to, but she didn't press the matter.

"Night, Tasha." Bruce whispered as he drifted off.

"Good night, Bruce." she replied softly. She left the room, and gently shut the door. She walked down the hall with a new purpose. Bruce's implications about his past had gotten her thinking about her own.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.? I need you to pull up everything you have on Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova." she said to the A.I.

She knew that her mother and father were definitely dead. But that wouldn't stop her from finding them and paying their graves a visit.

Percy's P.O.V.

As it turned out, running C.H.A.O.S. wasn't that hard. He managed to split the agents into twelve different groups, each of them having a certain specialization. Each specialization ended up being backed by one or two Olympians. Interestingly enough, this meant that each group gained a tiny blessing from their patron god or goddess.

Research and Development (Hephaestus): More imagination.

Medical Support Unit (Apollo): Extremely steady hands.

Intelligence Unit (Athena): Faster thought process.

Combat Specialists (Ares): Enhanced stamina.

Infiltration Specialists (Hades): Increased stealth.

Snipers (Artemis): Perfect eyesight.

Scouts (Hermes): Increased speed.

Covert Operatives (Aphrodite): Better persuasion skills.

Counseling (Dionysus/Hera): Higher empathy.

Control Center (Zeus/Poseidon): Sense for the weather conditions.

Security (Hestia): Mind is always calm.

Naturally, the agents didn't notice the change at all. Percy wouldn't have realized that there was anything different if the gods hadn't sent him a note telling him about the blessings. After that, it was more noticable to him. He put Hand in charge of the Control Center, as that was her speciality, and asked her to create some sort of training schedule. Percy wanted everybody to be able to fight, whether they were scientists or specialists. Then, he went to work. He needed tons of transportation methods, and he needed them fast.

The first thing he did is raid several Hydra bases, stealing their aircraft as well as their vehicles, and taking them back to the Manta. He got 50 jets, as well as a ton of tanks, trucks, and vans. At one base in Sokovia, he found some strange sets of modified Chitauri armor that could fly using a jet propulsion system and shoot purple lasers.

After he felt that he'd taken enough of Hydra's things, he sat down and started drawing up blueprints for an advanced fleet of jets. He designed 8 different planes, each of them named for a friend he'd lost.

Captrix - Zoe Nightshade

Angel - Bianca di Angelo

Libra - Ethan Nakamura

Patroclus - Silena Beauregard

Dioscurus - Castor Gemini

Colossus - Charles Beckendorf

Sonic - Michael Yew

Messenger - Luke Castellan

Each jet was capable of unique things based off of the demigod they were named for. Percy spent days running simulations, and figuring out the logistics of each plane. It was the most amount of research he'd ever done. Finally, after three weeks without actual food or sleep, Percy stumbled into Bunker 9 and dropped the stack of blueprints onto a desk.

"Can you guys build these?" he asked Leo, who looked surprised to see him.

"Where'd you come from?" Leo wondered.

"The forest." Percy responded with a straight face. Leo picked up the blueprints and started looking through them.

"Where'd you get these?" Leo asked, a look of awe on his face.

"I spent the last three weeks drawing them up. I haven't slept for more than an hour a night since I started. I've been drinking so much coffee and consuming so much sugar as a way to stay awake. And I've eaten so many protein bars." Percy replied, yawning.

"What are these for?" the son of Hephaestus questioned.

"That's classified. I've got the approval of the gods to make this stuff, though." Percy said.

"Can I join your super secret organization?" Leo joked.

"No." Leo raised his hands in the air.

"Okay, okay. When do you need these by?" Percy held up a Lotus Casino Card. Every month since the Giant war, he'd routinely made a stop in Vegas to swipe several from the hotel. It was useful, having so many of the cards. He'd donated tons of money to charity, but every single time he checked the cards, they still showed up as an infinite amount of money. He hadn't thought it was possible to have infinite amounts of money, but then again, he hadn't thought that gods existed when he was younger.

"As soon as possible. I'll give you this as payment, but only after the jets are done." Percy negotiated. Leo raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"Roger that, Secret Agent Man." Percy smiled.

"Thanks, Leo." he said, imagining his bed in Bunker 3.

"No pro-" was all Percy heard before he'd mist-traveled away, immediately collapsing onto his soft mattress, and sinking into the realm of Hypnos.

When he finally woke up, he rolled out of bed, and wondered what he was going to do next. C.H.A.O.S. didn't need him, and Natasha was occupied with the Avengers. Then, he had an amazing idea. Eyes shining with excitement, he changed into a rather formal outfit: black slacks, a white button-down shirt, shiny black leather shoes, a black tie, and a black suit jacket which he left hanging open. With the addition of the sunglasses he wore, he looked like he worked for the secret service. He then ran out of the bunker, and brought out the motorcycle Tyson had built for him.

He rode into the city, only stopping to buy several things: a beautiful bouquet of white, purple, and pink flowers, the most beautiful silver diamond pendant he could find, a very nice Rolex watch, a small purse, two laptops, and a black leather briefcase. He then stopped at the bank to set up a bank account with a hundred million dollars, and got two debit cards linked to the account. He figured that with all of the Lotus Casino cards he had, he could definitely afford to spend a ton of it. The people at the bank looked slightly suspicious, but that was easily alleviated with a bit of Mist. He then carefully packed all of his gifts, sans the bouquet, into the briefcase. Finishing this, he hopped on his motorcycle and maneuvered through the streets of the Upper East Side, heading down Second Avenue and turning onto his street. He spotted the familiar five-story brick apartment building.

"I'm going to move Mom and Paul into a fortified mansion with tons of space and stocked with literally anything they need. They deserve it." he vowed as he stored his motorcycle in cube form, and walked through the doors. He went up the stairs, and knocked on his apartment door.

"I'll get it, Paul." he heard his mom say. Percy tapped his foot anxiously as he heard footsteps approaching. He hadn't seen his mother or Paul since he turned eighteen, having left to both learn how to navigate the mortal world, and do his job as the Sea Scorpion. He shifted the flowers behind his back with one hand, and held the briefcase at his side with the other, standing tall and straight.

The door opened, and Percy's mom stepped out. She looked at Percy, puzzled.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asked. Percy, however, was very distracted. His attention was fixated on the fact that his mother had her hand on her stomach, almost protectively. If he wasn't mistaken, there was a slight bump there as well.

"Wait..... no freaking way." he thought.

"Mom?" he croaked, feeling his eyes mist slightly. How could he have missed the news that he and Natasha were going to have a little brother or sister? His mother's eyes widened.

"Percy???" she asked, brows furrowed in confusion. Percy handed her the flowers, and took off his glasses, carefully folding them with his only available hand, and putting them into his pocket.

"Percy!!" his mother exclaimed again, surging forwards and wrapping him in a hug. She stepped back slightly, taking another look at him.

"Oh, look at you!! Dressed up the way you are, I didn't even recognize you! Paul! Percy's back!" she practically squealed into the apartment. Her face suddenly switched from happy to angry and worried.

"Perseus Jackson! Where in the world have you been???" she growled out. Percy took a small step back, startled by the change in mood. His mother had rarely so much as raised her voice at him before. She had the patience of a saint.

"Okay, so if she's pregnant, and her mood changed that quickly, she's probably around six to ten weeks along. Unless she's become quick to anger since I've been gone, that's probably what's happening here." he deduced.

"Working, mostly. I've got a job up at Avengers Tower. I've been traveling quite a bit, too." he answered truthfully. His mother's features softened, and she wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm so glad that you've come home." she murmured, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. Paul appeared behind her.

"Percy! Welcome home!" he said. Percy grinned at him.

"Hey, Paul! It's good to be back." he responded. Sally ushered him inside, and closed the door. They all went to the living room, and sat down. Paul asked him a couple of questions about how he'd been, and his mom chattered on about how grown up he was. Eventually, there was a lull in the conversation. Percy noticed his mother and Paul exchange a nervous glance. He took note of the way that Paul's eyes darted down to his mother's stomach for half a second before glancing over at Percy.

"I knew it." he thought triumphantly.

A lopsided smirk found its way onto Percy's face, and he sat forward, his eyes glinting with mischief. Sally and Paul looked back at him.

"Congratulations!" Percy said enthusiastically, clapping his hands together. Sally and Paul looked very confused.

"On what?" Paul asked. Percy scoffed.

"Isn't it obvious?" he laughed gleefully.

"Not really." Percy heard his mother whisper to Paul.

"So, when's the due date?" he inquired. Both adults remained oblivious.

"For my book?" Sally questioned. Percy rolled his eyes, but ignored her comment.

"I'm guessing November or December, depending on how many weeks along you are. I know that you're somewhere between six to ten. Do you think the baby's going to be a boy or a girl? I bet it's a girl." he speculated. Sally and Paul's mouths dropped open in shock.

"How did you-" Paul stuttered. Percy beamed.

"When Mom opened the door, she had a hand on her stomach protectively. Her stomach is slightly rounded in a certain way that suggests a baby bump. I assumed you were pregnant from that. Your mood went from happy to angry and worried to relieved in minutes, which suggests that you are in your first trimester, in between six and ten weeks. The only other time you're supposed to get mood swings is in your third trimester, and you obviously haven't gotten there yet. And just now, you guys shared a nervous glance. You were most likely nervous about telling me this. I figured that out because of you, Paul. Your eyes flicked down towards Mom's stomach. From all of that, it wasn't too hard to draw my conclusion." he explained to his dumbstruck parents.

"Well reasoned." Paul managed. Percy stood and took a bow.

"Thank you very much." he responded in a British accent. He then bent down and picked up the briefcase.

"What's in there?" Sally asked. Percy smiled excitedly, handing the briefcase to her.

"Open it!!" he urged. She unlocked the latches, and raised the lid. Her face instantly drained of color. Paul immediately scooted to her side. He also paled drastically.

"Percy- this- where-" he choked.

"Two laptops, a watch, a necklace, two debit cards, small purse, and the briefcase itself." he listed casually.

"How much did all of this cost?" Sally gasped. Percy paused, thinking hard.

"I have no idea." he finally admitted. Paul picked up one of the debit cards.

"What's this?" he wondered out loud.

"Oh, you know, just a debit card to an account with a hundred million dollars in it." There was complete silence following that declaration, which was apt, considering the sheer amount of money that was.

"By the way, I'm going to move you two to a mansion sometime in the future. Probably one with several rooms so any demigods in need of help or other guests can stay there. And we'll need to get furniture for my little sibling. Nat's going to be so excited." Percy continued. He looked at Paul and his mother, who looked worried. Percy's face dropped, and he tilted his head to the side, confused.

"Do you not like the presents?" he asked. His mother walked over and wrapped him in a hug.

"Honey, the presents are amazing. We're just wondering how you got them. I don't want to offend you or anything, but you never even went to college." she confessed. Percy laughed, relieved.

"I've been stopping by the Lotus Casino and picking up several cash cards every month. Each card has an infinite amount of money on it. That's where all of this comes from. And hanging around Avengers Tower has taught me a lot. But I see where you're coming from." Percy replied.

"That's good to hear, Percy." Paul said.

"Um, is it okay if I stay here for a while? I've got a place to stay and all, but it's been a while since I've done anything... mundane." Percy asked nervously. Sally and Paul's eyes widened in delight.

"That would be great! Oh, it'll be nice to have you around the house again." his mother responded. Percy relaxed, giving them a grin.

"Thanks, Mom. And thanks, Paul." he replied sincerely. They smiled warmly at him.

"No problem, Percy." Paul said. Sally leaped to her feet.

"Come on now, let's get you settled in! I have blue cookies!" she exclaimed. As she led him out of the living room, a couple of things caught his eye: a sketchpad, a piano, and a stack of books.

"Maybe I can learn some new things while I'm here." he thought. His stomach grumbled slightly.

"But first, blue cookies." he decided. He followed his mother down the hall.

February 2013

Bruce's P.O.V.

His cold brown eyes glared down at him, tears pouring down his face.

"Tell anyone what happened here, and you'll regret it, monster." he said.

He growled, and stalked away. Bruce watched him leave angrily, a newfound determination coursing through his veins.

"I'll never be like him. And I'll be free of him, someday. Then, nobody will ever hurt me again. I'll be able to protect myself. No one will have to sacrifice themselves for me again." he swore mentally. He looked sadly at the unmoving figure lying on the pavement next to him, blood leaking from their head.

"Never again." he repeated.

His eyes snapped open, and he sat up in bed, clutching his head in agony. He was confused by the dream.

"Was that a memory? Because I don't recall that ever happening. Who was he?" he wondered. He stumbled as he leaped off the mattress and staggered into the bathroom. After splashing water onto his face, he glanced at the mirror, and froze. His eyes glowed a bright green, but he didn't feel the Hulk coming forth.

"What the-" he thought. He looked closer, and noticed that his irides looked as if it had green flames dancing in them. Something had changed inside of him after he'd hulked out several weeks prior. He'd been having strange dreams every night. But this dream had felt more vivid, and he didn't like it.

"It has to have something to do with the demigods." he decided, still inspecting his eyes. The green flickered suddenly, and then died. For a second, everything was back to normal. Then, a searing pain burst through his eyes, and he cried out, shutting them tight and pressing his hands to them. Eventually, the pain subsided, and he warily looked up again. This time, he noticed flecks of green in his eyes in a circular pattern, and his irides were no longer circular. They looked more like a drawing of an atom, with 8 protrusions arranged around the outer edge.

"Okay, that's weird." he mused. Bruce turned away from the mirror, glancing at the clock. It read 2:13 AM. He groaned, and decided to head down to his workshop, and tinker for a while. Upon getting there, he took off his glasses, folding them, and then pulling the two ends apart. It expanded into a small scythe attached to a chain, with a metal ball on the end. It was a kusarigama he'd made himself, made of adamantium mixed with enchanted graphene. The latter was a ridiculously strong carbon allotrope enchanted with ancient Greek magic, and the former was the strongest metal in the world, other than vibranium. The kusarigama was even designed to expand if the Hulk ever needed a weapon while Bruce could control him. He'd spent a while collecting the two rare materials, as they were both very expensive to buy. It was a powerful weapon, but also a last resort.

Sitting there staring at his kusarigama, he suddenly felt inspired to make another weapon. One that was just as strong, but less unorthodox. He decided to make a sword. After researching different types of swords, he decided on a mix between a scimitar and a falchion, using the latter's thick blade, but curving it like the former. He built a rough cast of the blade out of plastic. After that, he created his adamantium/enchanted-graphene alloy. Then, on a whim, he added a drop of his blood to it. The mixture glowed green, and then went back to normal. He quickly poured the red-hot alloy into the cast, and let it cool for a while. Once it had taken the shape of the cast, he immediately took the sword and started hammering the metal so that the precise shape he desired was achieved. He repeatedly stuck it directly into the flames of a nearby fire so that the sword would be as strong as possible. Eventually, the blade was done, and he slowly heated the blade and cooled it again until he was sure that any stressing had been removed. He spent some time assembling a beautiful hilt, and then enchanted the sword to turn into a watch, as well as remain sharp indefinitely. Finally, he picked up the sword, and swung it a few times. Then, he yelped and almost dropped it.

"What the creeping crud is that?" he thought, panicking.

The sword had green flames flickering around it, and Bruce recognized them to be Greek fire. He caught sight of his reflection on a shiny piece of metal, and realized that his eyes were glowing green and on fire to match the sword. He looked back at the sword, which shimmered brightly. The flames hissed and spat, practically dripping off the blade.

"Now how do I turn the flames off?" he wondered, and immediately, the blaze died, leaving him holding his now normal-looking sword.

He softened the metal once more, and used a crafting knife to inscribe Anaptos, meaning fire, on the blade. After it cooled, he stored it in watch form, which he put on his left wrist. Then, he made his way down to the gym.

Just as he reached the door, he felt the oddest sensation. It was like he was falling, but he knew that he wasn't. He was somehow mentally shoved out of the way, and then, it was as if he was a spectator looking through his own eyes. He tried to move, but he couldn't. Someone or something was controlling his body. And all Bruce could do was watch.

"What the hell is going on?"

And cut! Sorry, not sorry for the cliff-hanger! Some notes on this chapter:

Natasha tracking her parents down: This was inspired by the deleted scene from CA:CW where Natasha says that she tried to track down her parents after S.H.I.E.L.D. fell. I'm still trying to figure out why they cut that scene. She has this one really awesome line: We have what we have when we have it. I absolutely LOVE that line. I feel like it highlights how she's learned how to take punches and roll with them, how she's learned to adapt, and it's an interesting aspect of her character.

In terms of what's happening with Bruce: You'll have to wait till the next chapter to find that out. Although I will say this: The dream is definitely important. It might even seem somehow familiar to some.

Percy: Okay, so I felt like he really needed a break. He's been working his butt off setting up an organization, designing stuff, traveling everywhere, helping people out, etc. He hasn't seen his family for a while. So, he's going to get some family time. And maybe do some learning that has nothing to do with his crazy life. Of course, that doesn't mean he'll be completely out of the action. Not by a long shot. But it's nice to have those little moments of peace. Especially with everything that's to come...

The entire chapter: What I was going for was character development that will help with plot later on, mixed with bonding that explains AoU ( I like the pairing because it makes sense and they're pretty cute, but tbh, the movie kind of threw Brutasha at us), and behind the scenes set up for things that will happen in the future. But you're not supposed to know that last part.

Anyways, if you've got any questions, please do not hesitate to comment them. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I thank all of your for your reads, reviews, and comments.

- Spathi