Hi guys! Here's another chapter... made of filler and character development(maybe). I guess it's mostly just an intro to the next arc. At least you're getting a break from the constant emotional rollercoasters? I don't know if it will be as interesting as you seem to have found the other chapters...Enjoy? - Spathi

Natasha's P.O.V.

She drifted back to consciousness slowly, feeling safe and warm, which was strange to her. Her green eyes blinked open, and she realized that she was tucked into Bruce's side.

He was awake, watching her with wide brown eyes. A faint blush dusted his cheeks.

"Hi." she said simply.

"Good morning." he responded awkwardly. Natasha realized that she was lying on his arm, and sat up slowly, pain shooting through her ribs at the movement. They no longer felt broken, but they were rather sore.

"You should not be able to do that." Bruce commented.

"Look at me, breaking all the stereotypes." she joked. She managed to scoot backwards, and rest her spine against the headboard of the bed. Bruce carefully started poking at her previously broken bones.

"Well, at least I didn't have to break out the Skele-Gro." he muttered.

"Gods, I hope that isn't actually a thing. The books made it sound terrible." she groaned.

Remus bounded into the room and leapt onto the bed. The little wolf scrambled onto her lap, and Natasha emitted a short cry of pain. Her femur still felt terrible, and Remus had literally jumped on it.

The wolf pup immediately jumped off of her lap, whined, and looked up at her with sad eyes.

"Sorry, Remy. But I don't think that my lap is a very good place for you to be right now." she apologized. Remus licked her hand, and lay down, wagging his tail.

"He acts domesticated." Bruce said.

"I think he's just smart." she replied. He shrugged.

"Maybe." he said. He reached out and patted Remus on the head. The wolf stood up, chased his tail a couple of times, and then sat back down again and barked. Percy stuck his head into the room.

"Good morning, lovebirds!" he chirped. Bruce instantly turned red. Natasha summoned her dagger and threw it at his head. Percy yelped and dodged to the side.

"I'm going to kill you." Natasha threatened.

"You don't mean that." her absolutely annoying younger brother pouted, standing at the foot of the bed.

"Don't I?" she asked, glaring. Percy looked at her with his patented baby seal eyes.

"Peter-" she warned. The seal eyes got sadder. 

"We are not doing this again." she said. Now, the baby seal eyes were glistening.

"Dammit. Fine. I don't mean that." she relented. The seal eyes vanished, and Percy grinned.

"Love ya too, sis!" Natasha rolled her eyes. She glanced at Bruce who was trying (and failing) to suppress a smile.

"Oh, why won't you two just kiss already?" Percy exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. Immediately, Natasha's eyes snapped over to him, her eyes promising pain.

"Shit. I did not mean to say that out loud." he whispered. Something in her expression must have worried him, because he gulped. Natasha tensed, waiting for the right moment.

And suddenly, she lunged forwards, trying to wrap her hands around his throat. He jumped, and started backpedaling furiously. She would have pursued him, but Bruce had his arms locked around her waist, stopping her from getting any further. She settled for yelling at her sibling instead.

"PETER FREAKING JOHNSON!" she growled, just barely managing to use the name of his cover.

"Sorry! I literally didn't mean to say it. It just slipped out!" he protested. Natasha screamed obscenities at him in Latin. Percy just stood there, eyes wide, and obviously panicking. Bruce just watched the chaos, eyes wide.

Eventually, Natasha stopped screaming, and just sat there glaring at him. Bruce still hadn't let go of her. Everyone was silent for a while.

Then, Percy opened his mouth.

"I'm hesitant to say this, but...if I ever get a girlfriend, I give you my permission to get revenge." he staed. Natasha raised an eyebrow, and smirked.

"I could do that right now." she replied. Percy looked confused.

"What? How?" he wondered. She pulled out her phone, and dialed a number.

"Hello?" a feminine voice answered.

"Hi, Annabeth." Percy's face paled.

"Just wanted to let you know-" That was as far as she got before Percy snatched the phone from her.

"Hello???" Annabeth asked more insistently. Natasha smirked victoriously. She knew that Percy wasn't going to hang up on Annabeth of all people. Percy glared at her.

"Hey, Annabeth." he responded, moving to exit the room. As he turned back to close the door, Natasha mouthed have fun!

Percy flipped her off. The door slammed shut behind him.

For a couple of seconds, neither Bruce or Natasha moved. Then, Bruce started laughing. Natasha chuckled a little.

"Well played." Bruce said after he'd calmed down a bit.

"Thank you." Natasha replied, a small smile on her face. She scooted to the edge of the bed, and swung her legs over the side.

Bruce hurried around the bed, and helped her stand up. They made their way out of the room and into the kitchen. Bruce made breakfast, while Natasha contacted Clint. They were going to need a lift back to the United States.

After breakfast, Natasha said goodbye to her younger brother, who was picked up by a C.H.A.O.S. agent (not that Bruce knew that). By the time the Avengers arrived with the plane, he was long gone.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Tony squawked. Natasha and Bruce shared a look. They had a lot of explaining to do.

June 2013

Percy's P.O.V.

May finally contacted him five months after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. 

When he went to go pick her up, she looked very stressed and in need of a distraction. She was wearing her usual leather jacket, t-shirt, and black jeans, as well as a pair of aviators.

"Hey." Percy said. She nodded at him.

"Ready to go?" May nodded again, so Percy put a hand on her shoulder and vapor-traveled them to Quebec. He led her to the palace of Boreas, where two similar looking winged men with white hair swooped down blocked their way.

"Stop. Demigods may not enter the palace without invitation." One said, probably Zethes. He glared at them from where he hovered, 10 feet above the ground. May moved forward, folding her aviators and tucking them into a pocket while looking at the guards coldly. She rose off the ground until she hovered at their height, and spoke.

"I wish to meet my father. I do not believe he would deny me that wish." she stated in an icy tone. Zethes looked slightly afraid, but stood his ground.

"I will not let you through, whether you are my sister or not." he replied. May thrust her hand forward, connecting with his chest and blowing him backwards into the palace doors with a gust of wind. She followed it up with a slicing motion using only two fingers of the same hand, and a blade of wind cut open Zethes's cheek. Percy blinked in astonishment.

"That's new." he thought.

Zethes's brother, Calais, darted forward only to be met with May's fist. May shot forward, flying towards the entrance to the palace. Zethes intercepted her, causing her to crash-land on the icy ground. Zethes touched down onto the snow and approached her on foot. She suddenly vanished from the spot and reappeared behind Zethes, forming a staff of ice in her hand, spinning it around and slamming it into Zethes as hard as possible. Percy's jaw dropped.

"Did she just-" he broke out of his thoughts as he saw Zethes fly forwards through the air. The son of Boreas crashed into Calais, both of them smashing through the front doors of the palace and skidding to a stop in the entrance hall, groaning in pain. They didn't attempt to attack again.

May walked through the hole in the wall and Percy followed, impressed and in awe.

"No wonder Nat speaks so highly of her. She's an absolute BAMF." he thought.

"How'd you pull off the teleportation?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Not sure. I just did." she replied.

They walked into the throne room, where the North Wind waited on his throne. Once he saw May, he shifted into Roman form.

"Melinda. It is nice to meet you, daughter." the god said.

"Father." Melinda replied frostily. The North Wind winced slightly.

"Talk about giving someone the cold shoulder." Percy thought.

"I understand that you are angry with me for not being around, although I trust your companion has explained to you the ancient laws. You know, you are the first demigod I've had in centuries. Since Zethes and Calais, actually. But I admired your mother's strength, both internally and externally. She was so compassionate, yet so cold on the outside. I am glad to see that you have taken after her in that way." he stated.

"Thank you, father." May responded in a slightly warmer tone. But her face remained expressionless.

"I wish to give you a gift, daughter." Aquilon waved his hand, and a silver staff with strange markings appeared, hovering in the air in front of her. May's eyes widened slightly.

"That's the Berserker Staff." she said, shifting backwards slightly.

"Indeed. As you know, it is of Asgardian origin. I am aware of the side effects it has. So, I'm going to make a few adjustments." The god closed his eyes, and the staff's markings glowed orange, and then flickered, turning blue. They started shining brighter and brighter, until the staff pulsed with a white light, and frost spread across the staff. It covered the length of the weapon, and then suddenly sunk into the staff, turning into what appeared to be Stygian Ice. The markings rippled slightly, and then changed, some of them still in Norse, but most in Greek and Latin. The staff stopped glowing, and floated to the ground, resting at May's feet. Aquilon opened his eyes.

"Go on, daughter. Pick it up." May tentatively reached for the staff. Once she touched it, the markings glowed a light blue, and May smiled slightly.

"Before, the inscription of the staff read Inspire Rage. Now, it reads My Strength is Unyielding. The Stygian Ice around the staff causes it to be almost invulnerable. Not to mention the fact it's mostly made of Asgardian and Stygian Iron, as well as Bone Steel. I'm sure it's not impossible to break the staff, but I'll guarantee that it won't be an easy feat. Like your mother, and like that staff, you are strong, and you do not break easily. Because of that, I've made it so that the staff's power does not lie in your rage, but in your determination, whether it's to protect those you hold close to your heart, or to fight for a good cause. And I've also made it so it will only respond to you, so don't worry about that. If anyone else picks it up, it's just be a metal bar." the god explained.

"In order to keep it with you at all times, you can shrink it down into a small tattoo. Try it." Aquilon continued. Percy raised an eyebrow. It seemed that Aquilon was really trying to make up for not being around to raise May.

The agent looked slightly awestruck, but she complied. The staff collapsed down into a small Chinese character on the radial pulse point on her right wrist. She glanced at it, and her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Iron." she translated, a small smile playing at her lips. The god chuckled.

"I thought you might enjoy the irony." Aquilon stated, winking conspirationally. Percy stared.

"Was that a pun? And was the Chinese character also meant to be a play on words? Because the staff is made of iron? Or is it referring to the synonym of unyielding? Or maybe both? Whatever the case, he's doing a lot better than most gods when they meet their kids for the first time." he thought.

"Thank you, father." May said, bowing deeply. Percy followed suit.

"You're welcome, Qiaolian. I wish you good luck." Aquilon replied. May nodded, and the god smiled at her. A flicker of uncertainty flashed across May's face before she spoke up again.

"Father, what exactly are my powers and abilities? I know that you are the North Wind, and also the spirit of winter, but I'm unclear on what that means for me." she asked cautiously. Aquilon laughed.

"Well, as my daughter, you are naturally impervious to the cold. You might have noticed that your skin is now paler. The blue ring around your eyes is also part of being my daughter, although I don't believe I've seen that before. Then again, you are my first demigod daughter, so perhaps it's normal." the god started.

"You've got several passive abilities. I'm just going to list them. You speak fluent French. Winter and air related activities are easy for you. Contact with ice energizes you. When you get angry, the temperature around you drops. Your voice has a small amount of magic weaved into it, which allows you to literally send chills up the spines of anybody you threaten. Same with your eyes. You heal faster than mortals as well. Pressing ice to your wounds will speed up the healing of any wounds, with the added bonus of numbing pain and slowing blood loss. And naturally, demigods are athletically superior to average mortals. Any demigod in their prime can rival Olympian athletes in terms of athleticism. The children of the four winds are similar to those of the Big Three in that they have enhanced strength and speed, due to the very nature of the winds. You should be around the level of Captain America since I've claimed you." the wind god continued. Percy's eyes widened with every word.

"That's a lot of abilities." he thought.

"As for powers, you've already figured out flight, as well as wind control. In terms of cryokinesis, or ice control, you have already realized your ability to create objects out of ice and control them. You can also freeze things in place by touching them, covering them with a layer of ice. And, as you saw outside, while standing on ice or snow, you can transport yourself from location to location. This doesn't work for long distance, though. You can only transport to locations that are covered in ice or snow that you can see. And it will take a bit of energy as well. What you can't do is blast ice out of your hands, or turn to snow like Khione can." Aquilon finished. Percy glanced over at May, who looked shocked. He didn't blame her. She was already amazing at fighting. If she used her powers, Percy doubted that there were many people that could best her. Aquilon spoke up again.

"There is one other power that you might have. It's the most destructive of them all." he began. Percy stared at the god.

"Wait, what?" May also looked surprised. The god sighed.

"As you might know, son of Poseidon, I have another child who is rather...wild. He is one of the venti." Aquilon said.

"The storm spirits." Percy commented. Aquilon nodded.

"Yes. He is a being of chaos, literally able to run like the wind. He can take two forms: human, and horse. Once he takes his horse form, he is extremely hard to restrain. Only the most powerful demigods can hope to subdue him. You may know his name, son of Poseidon." Percy snapped his fingers in recognition.

"That's right. The lightning horse that Jason summoned. Tempest." he replied. Aquilon inclined his head in agreement.

"Yes. Tempest. Capable of electrokinesis, aerokinesis, and becoming a being made of vapor that can travel at the speed of the wind. I know that you already have aerokinesis, Melinda. I wonder if you might have inherited any of the other two abilities as well." The god said.

"There's only one way to find out." May responded. She closed her eyes, concentrating. Percy backed up, slightly nervous.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. They flashed white for a split second. Then, the ring around her eyes started swirling faster. Her irides began to glow, and May seemed to fade slightly, blue vapor wisping around her. She shot off, moving at what must have been hundreds of miles per hour. She went straight through the side of the palace, which started to implode. May came blurring back into the palace barely a second later. She doubled over, breathing hard, as if she had just run a marathon. She then broke into a fit of coughs, eventually straightening up, and wiping a thin line of blood from her mouth. Aquilon waved his hand, and the palace's walls were fixed. He looked at May appraisingly, but with concern also present in his eyes.

"You moved at the speed of the hypothetical hypercane, which is only possible if the sea's temperature is at around 120 degrees Farenheit. I suppose that the sheer coldness of your wind form would heat up the water below you, as if the water was absorbing the heat. Meaning that anything you pass over would heat up a tiny bit as well." he mused.

"So if I run over someone, they'll feel warmer?" May asked sarcastically. Aquilon shrugged.

"That's rather probable. Although do me a favor and try not to use that ability too much. You could die from exhaustion." was the reply. May nodded thoughtfully. Percy stared at her.

"You know that you're one of the most powerful demigods I've ever met, right? Like, I think you'd totally be able to take a Gigantes in a fight. You'd probably win. Easily." he commented in awe. Aquilon smirked.

"She's the first demigod daughter I've ever had. And I really loved her mother. The more a god truly loves the parent of the demigod, the more powerful said demigod becomes." the god explained.

At that moment, a storm spirit flew into the throne room. It solidified into a horse, and Percy realized that the spirit was familiar.

"Tempest." Aquilon greeted the crackling spirit. Tempest bent his front two legs in a bow.

"Aeolus requests the presence of the Four Winds, father. I was sent here to deliver the message." Percy was surprised to find that he had understood the spirit. Tempest's voice was reminiscient of thunder, deep and somehow crackling with power. It was different from most other horses, who simply sounded like people talking. The son of Poseidon glanced over at May, who seemed to have also understood Tempest's words. Aquilon sighed.

"I must leave you, daughter. I may be a god, but Aeolus is the master of the winds, and that includes me. I am grateful that you have come here, and I hope your heritage is of use to you. I thank you, son of Poseidon, for guiding my child here. When I leave here, take the box in the lobby as a token of my gratitude. My counterpart has already extended his thanks to your sister in his own way. Goodbye, demigods."

Then, he flickered, and disappeared. Percy looked at May, who shrugged her shoulders slightly and started moving towards the door. True to Aquilon's word, there was a rather large box in the lobby, which Percy picked up and inspected. Then, he opened it, furrowing his brow in confusion as he saw what was inside. There were several crystals inside, which were a light blue, and clear. There was a small note nestled in the box as well.

I got these from my Norse counterpart, as they originated from an 'alien' race he encountered. Break a crystal, and any non-mortal will gain some sort of ability. It will most likely be an ability related to any innate powers they may have already developed. But be warned, only the purest form of this crystal works this way. The impure sort is rather...volatile. Stay safe. - Aquilon

Percy glanced over at May, who looked back at him impassively.

"Think we should test it out?" he asked.

"Why not?" she responded in a careless tone, although Percy could see a hint of uncertainty in the way she stood, how her muscles had tensed, and how her fingers twitched at her side. Percy turned back to the box, and picked up a crystal.

"Here goes nothing." he thought, and threw it down. The crystal shattered, and a strange mist poured out of its remains.

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, stone started to creep up their legs. Percy had about two seconds to panic before the stone had covered his face. Everything went black.

After what could have been seconds, minutes, or even hours, the stone fell away, and crumbled to dust. Percy squeezed his eyes shut as his senses seemed to overload. Even with his eyes tightly closed, he somehow could detect May next to him, tracking her movements without even looking at her. He frowned, as he felt something else coming their way.

His eyes snapped open, and he dove to the side just as a mass of chaotically swirling winds, lightning, and a bit of water dropped out of the sky, landing right on the spot he was previously standing on. The swirling winds condensed, forming a tall horse with a coat the color of a thundercloud.

"My name is Derecho, son of Aquilon, and I am now bonded to you, sister." the horse thundered to May in a voice reminscient of Tempest's. May blinked.

"Bonded?" she asked. Derecho lowered his head, and nuzzled her. There was a flash of bright white light, and although Percy was blinded, he sensed with his newfound powers that the horse had disappeared.

"Oh. That's interesting." May said suddenly, and Percy turned quizzically towards her.

"He's part of me now. I guess that's what I got out of the crystal. I can either summon Derecho, or I can take his shape." she explained simply. Percy raised his eyebrows, although May couldn't see it behind his goggles, and crossed his arms.

"I suppose that's what bonding means." he replied. May nodded, and then tilted her head, scrutinizing him.

"What happened to you?" she questioned.

"I can sense things, even without looking at them. I can see objects that I'm not even facing, and I can track the movements of living things even if they aren't in my line of sight." he responded. May moved behind him, and he could see an outline of her moving even as he kept his eyes forward. It was like having a rear-view mirror that was somehow separate from his actual vision. At the same time, he could sense that below the floor in front of him, there were people moving. He noticed an object form in May's hand, and then ducked as the object was suddenly swung at his head.

"I understand why you swung a blunt object at my head, but couldn't you have tested it out a different way?" he complained.

"How'd you tell it was coming? And how'd you know that it was an object, and not just my arm?" May asked.

"It's a mixture of heightened reflexes, and in a way, seeing the attack coming. And I can differentiate living things from non-living things. I can also see through objects to the objects behind them. It's kind of hard to explain. " Percy answered.

"Well, I'd say that as far as I can tell your ability is some type of biosonar, electrolocation, and infrared vision hybrid. Your sensory capabilities towards your surroundings are at the highest degree, which, combined with your reflexes, means that you are now impossible to sneak up on or catch by surprise." May concluded. Percy stared.

"I do read, you know. And Simmons was researching these things just a month ago." she defended herself.

"That's not why- I didn't mean- I wasn't expecting my ability to be that advantageous. That's why I was so shocked." Percy managed to say.

"I see." May's eyes flashed a icy light blue as Derecho appeared again.

"Thank you for taking me here. I'll ride Derecho back to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base." she said. Percy reached into his pocket, and withdrew a C.H.A.O.S. coin.

"I've been building an organization of my own, and I'd like for you to join. If you pay us a visit, I'll tell you more about it. The only thing I'll say about it right now is that while S.H.I.E.L.D. was based on the idea of protection, C.H.A.O.S. was built to support. To help. That's what the organization's about, and I think you'd be interested to see who the members are." Percy stated, holding the coin out.

"C.H.A.O.S.?" May asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It stands for the Combative Hyperconscious Auxiliary Operatives Sector. Now if you joined, you'd be the third member of the A.S.S.E.T., also known as the Adaptive Semiautonomous Specialized Extraction Team, alongside my sister and I. I suppose that the A.S.S.E.T. would be like C.H.A.O.S.'s version of the Avengers, the S.T.R.I.K.E. team, and an extraction team all mixed into one. Oh, and of course, you get to know everything if you join. No secrets, as long as all of the info stays within C.H.A.O.S. Consider it." Percy coaxed. A hint of a smile appeared on May's face.

"Alright. I'll think about it." she said, finally accepting the coin.

"That coin is linked to you. It's bonded to you, and it will always return to you. If you want to teleport to the base, just visualize the symbol. Oh, and take this." Percy pulled out one of the enchanted pieces of metal Walt had made. May took it, and it turned into a shield resembling Captain America's with a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo in the middle.

"If you put this somewhere, you can use the coin to teleport to that location as well. All you've got to do is visualize this object." Percy explained, pointing to the small shield. May nodded, and tucked the coin and the shield into a pocket in her jacket.

"Thank you, Alexios." she said, swinging herself onto Derecho. Percy saluted, and Derecho and May shot off, blurring into a mass of winds and quickly disappearing from sight. Percy smiled to himself, and brought out his C.H.A.O.S. coin. He visualized the base, and in the blink of an eye, he was there. He grinned.

"Gotta love magic." he thought as he strolled through the halls of the base. He rubbed his hands together in glee. He had a lot of fun stuff to do.

November 2013

Natasha woke up feeling drained. Her dreams had been filled with death and the color red, more so than usual. She looked around the room, seeing Remus fast asleep at the edge of her bed. She smiled at the sight.

Out of all the Avengers, only Bruce and her knew that she'd brought Remus into the tower. She'd smuggled the wolf onto the plane in a backpack, and he'd managed to stay quiet for the entire ride. Then, she'd hacked J.A.R.V.I.S. so that the AI would ignore the little wolf's presence. She'd also taught Remus to stay within her room. Whenever the pup had business to take care off, he'd go in a small area in the corner of the room, which she could easily clean daily.

It had been several months since what Tony liked to call Natasha and Bruce's version of Budapest. Natasha simply called it Siberia. Since then, her injuries had healed nicely, and she'd been training to make sure she wasn't taken by surprise like that again.

Sighing, Natasha checked the time. She groaned.

4:02 AM; November 22, 2013

Deciding that there was no way that she was going to go back to sleep, she swung her legs out of bed, and made her way over to her closet, changing into some workout clothes. Then, she quickly ran a brush through her hair, and brushed her teeth. She didn't bother to put on shoes or socks, knowing that she'd take them off the minute she got to the gym. Stepping out of her bedroom, she shivered slightly as her bare feet touched the cold tile of the hallway. She padded over to the elevator, which opened for her as she approached.

"Miss Romanoff, where would you like to go?"JARVIS queried.

"The gym. Is anyone else awake?" she responded.

"Right away, Miss Romanoff. And no one but you is awake at this time." the AI answered.

"Thanks, JARVIS." She sighed, stepping out of the elevator.

"Initiate privacy protocol, please." she said to the AI. There was no verbal reply, but she saw a camera in the corner of the room power down. Natasha started stretching her muscles, working out the kinks from an uncomfortable sleep. On bad nights, she thrashed a lot, usually ending up in positions that left her with sore muscles the next morning. Last night had been a bad night.

After stretching, she went through her exercise routine, keeping herself in peak fitness. With her line of work, she couldn't afford to be in anything but top condition. Once she'd finished that, she decided to work on shadow control. First, she slowly absorbed the light in the room, until there was nothing but complete darkness. It took her about two minutes, which she knew she'd have to shorten. In the field, she'd need to be able to remove the light from a room in a matter of seconds.

Next, she practiced making things out of shadows. She condensed darkness into long tendrils of black matter, and then manipulated them, trying everything from creating ropes that she then walked across, to creating claws of shadow that she dug into the wall to allow her to climb up to the rafters. The interesting thing about the shadow objects is that no matter what she did, they left no mark. She could pierce them into cement, and remove them without a trace. She could stab someone without actually wounding them, simply leaving a spike of shadow somehow causing them pain. She supposed that she could choke people with the shadows without leaving any bruises around their necks.

Eventually, she moved from shadow manipulation to shadow travel. She practiced falling or leaping into the darkness and then emerging from the shadows as silently as possible. She put her arm into the shadows and practiced grabbing something across the room. She even tried manipulating shadows through shadow travel, looking at a shadow across the room, and trying to cause it to turn into something else. She did all of this until she felt like she could fall asleep again, at which point she turned off the privacy protocol, took the elevator up to the kitchen, and downed a cup of coffee spiked with some nectar, which she'd concealed in a compartment she'd created in the wall.

She glanced at the time again, which now read 6:32 AM, and muttered darkly as she once again saw the date. She hadn't registered it before, but it was her birthday. November 22 blinked in glowing blue letters and numbers right next to the time, and she stared. She was now 31 years old. Mentally, anyways. She was physically 29. 

Natasha sighed, and walked into the living room. She didn't really care much for her birthday, as there hadn't really been a cause to celebrate it back in the Red Room. She collapsed onto the couch, wondering what she should do. Then, she had an idea.

Percy had bought her an electric guitar and an amp some months back, wanting her to have a way to pass the time. Seeing as he was learning the piano, Natasha had decided that learning an instrument might be fun.

She pulled the red guitar out from a nearby cabinet, and connected it to the amp. She messed around with the strings for a while. Then, she decided to play the song she'd written immediately after getting the instrument.

She didn't notice that there was someone watching her from the doorway.

Bruce's P.O.V.

Upon waking up and getting ready, he decided to go wish Natasha a happy birthday, and give her the present he'd made her from a set of blueprints he'd found. He asked J.A.R.V.I.S. where she was, learning that she was in the living room of the common area. Bruce took the elevator down, and stopped short upon seeing Natasha staring out the window, an electric guitar connected to an amp in her hands. He opened his mouth to get her attention, but stopped short upon hearing her sing.

Just Set It All Free

Scarlett Johansson

[Verse 1]

I followed my heart into the fire

Got burned, got broken down by desire

I tried, I tried but the smoke in my eyes

Left me blurry, blurry and blind

I picked all the pieces up off the ground

Got dirt on my fingers but that's gone now

Got the glue in my hands and stickin' to the plan

Stickin' to the plan that says "I can"

[Pre-chorus 1]

Do anything at all

I can do anything at all

[Chorus]

This is my kiss goodbye

You can stand alone and watch me fly

Cause nothing's keeping me down

Gonna let it all out

Come on and say right now, right now, right now

This is my big hello

Cause I'm here and never letting go

I can finally see, it's not just a dream

When you set it all free, all free, all free

[Post-chorus]

Just set it all free

[Verse 2]

I was a girl caught under your thumb

But my star's gonna shine brighter than your sun

And I will reach so high, shoot so far

Gonna hit, gonna hit, hit every target

[Pre-chorus]

Make it count this time

I will make it count this time

[Chorus]

This is my kiss goodbye

You can stand alone and watch me fly

Cause nothing's keeping me down

I'm gonna let it all out

Come on and say right now, right now, right now

This is my big hello

Cause I'm here and never letting go

I can finally see, it's not just a dream

When you set it all free, all free, all free

[Post-chorus]

Just set it all free

Just set it all free

Just set it all free

[Chorus]

This is my kiss goodbye

You can stand alone and watch me fly

Cause nothing's keeping me down

I'm gonna let it all out

Come on and say right now, right now, right now

This is my big hello

Cause I'm here and never letting go

I can finally see, it's not just a dream

When you set it all free, all free, all free

[Post-chorus]

Just set it all free

Just set it all free

Just set it all free

Just set it all free

Just set it all free

"Whoa." he breathed out, and Natasha turned to face him, bright green eyes widening slightly in surprise. With the sunrise illuminating her in a golden light, fiery red hair up in a messy ponytail, she looked beautiful.

And her voice... it was unique. That was the best word for it. It was a little throaty, with a rock/country vibe to it. But it was hers. It was just like her, a little flawed but still amazing. And suddenly Bruce Banner came to a simple conclusion.

He was screwed. Completely and utterly screwed. Because at that moment, he'd realized that he was in love with Natasha Romanoff.

"Shit." he whispered, and Natasha stood and walked over.

"Bruce, are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"Uh, yeah. It's just- Did you write that song yourself?" he blurted.

"Yes, actually. Did you um- did you like it?" she asked, uncharacteristically shy.

"Are you kidding? It's fantastic!! How'd you come up with it?" he responded.

"It was kind of a response to all of that stuff with the Red Room in Russia." she replied, still not meeting his eyes completely.

"Well, it was amazing." he exclaimed. They sat down on the couch. A frown passed over Bruce's face.

"Wait, but where'd you get the guitar?" he wondered.

"I've had it for a while. Peter gave it to me." she answered.

They fell silent again as Bruce pondered his newfound feelings.

There was no question as to why. Natasha was an incredibly strong, beautiful, independent woman with a good heart. But when did this happen??

Bruce was aware that he could be pretty oblivious. He hadn't even realized he had a crush on Natasha until Peter had given him the shovel talk back in Siberia. But this? This was pushing it. Somehow, he'd fallen in love with the woman over ten months of old movies, midnight tea, and post-battle medical treatments without noticing. That was the part that amazed him: he hadn't noticed a thing. 

"I have the emotional awareness of a rock." he thought to himself, annoyed. He shifted slightly, and was suddenly reminded of the package in his hands.

"Oh, I have a birthday present for you." he exclaimed. Natasha turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. He handed her the parcel wrapped in plain brown paper.

She neatly took the wrapping off, and lifted the top off of the box inside, extricating two sleek black batons.

"They can be charged with electricity from your cuffs." he said.

"How does that work?" Natasha asked.

"Do me a favor, and act surprised when Tony gives you his present later?" he bargained. Natasha nodded in agreement.

"Tony's been working on a new catsuit that run electricity through your cuffs wirelessly. These batons can receive electricity the same way, and can be switched from stun to kill using those buttons on the sides. I used a little godly magic to make it so they can be summoned and stored mentally. Unfortunately, Tony decided to put bright blue wiring in your suit as well, so you can forget about being visually stealthy for a while." Bruce said.

"Somehow, I get the feeling that he did that on purpose. But I'll make it work." Natasha replied unconcernedly. Bruce smiled.

"I'm sure you will." he responded. Natasha looked him square in the eyes.

"Thank you." she said sincerely.

"You're welcome, Tasha." He glanced away, feeling awkward. Natasha laughed, and kissed him on the cheek, leaving the room immediately afterwards. 

Bruce stayed on the couch, a blush on his cheeks. His heart rate was definitely higher than normal. The scientist slowly reached up to his face, and felt the area where the assassin's lips had made contact.

"Yup. I'm definitely screwed." he thought, eyes wide.

Natasha's P.O.V.

Just as Bruce had said, Tony had given her a new catsuit as soon as she ran into him. She gave him a tiny smile and a nod.

"Thanks." she called over her shoulder as she walked off.

"No problem, Red." he replied. Clint showed up at the tower, having spent the last several months at the farm. He gave her a bundle of letters from Laura and the kids, as well as a birthday cake and a pan of brownies, both of which his wife had made. They tasted delicious.

She slipped out of the tower around noon, wanting to visit her own family. She'd recently integrated herself into the Jackson-Blofis household, spending as much time with her brother and adoptive parents as possible. The little family had gone from three people to four.

And a couple months ago, it increased to five. The newest member of the Jackson-Blofis family was born a month early on June 20, the summer solstice. As it turned out, Percy and Natasha had in fact gotten to choose the name. Originally, she was supposed to choose the baby's first name, while Percy chose the middle name, but they quickly realized that one might sound better in front of the other.

So, the siblings decided that they'd each come up with a name, and Sally would decide which order the two names would go in. 

For fun, they kept it a secret from each other until the baby had arrived, at which point they whispered their chosen name into Sally's ear.

They'd watched Sally think for a minute, and then whisper their youngest sibling's name into Paul's ear, who smiled widely.

"Alright, you two." he said, clapping his hands.

"I'd like you to meet your younger sister, Nadia Sofia Jackson-Blofis." Percy and Natasha raised an eyebrow at each other.

 Natasha was the one had decided on Sofia, a name that meant wisdom in Greek. Coincidentally, Percy had chosen Nadia, which meant hope in Russian. As far as Natasha was concerned, the entire situation just showed how similarly their minds worked (although the argument could be made that Natasha had trained Percy's mind to work that way).

They ended up calling their youngest sibling Naia for short, which meant water nymph in both Greek and Latin. It seemed fitting.

Naia's nickname wasn't the only water related coincidence. It just so happened that a famous movie heavily involving a marine creature was released on June 20, 1975, exactly 38 years prior. Sally and Paul seemed to think that it was a good omen. Percy wondered whether Poseidon was watching over the child.

However, Natasha didn't see how Naia being born on the anniversary of the release date of Jaws meant fortune in any way. A man-eating great white shark didn't exactly scream good luck.

She hoped that they were right, because Naia was completely mortal. While her two older siblings faced danger on a daily basis, she had a chance at a normal life. Natasha and Percy had agreed that they would do everything in their power to make sure Naia got what they'd never had a shot at.

Natasha broke out of her thoughts as she almost rode her LiveWire straight into a tree. She was heading deep into Forest Park, in which lay the Arcadia.

The name came from the concept of a utopia; a place where everything was peaceful and perfect. The Arcadia itself was a large mansion sitting in the middle of the forest. It had been designed by Annabeth without her realizing what it was really for; Percy had asked her to draw hypothetical plans for a place safe from monsters where anyone from any of the mythological pantheons could stay. Then, her brother had taken Annabeth's plans and paid a ridiculous amount of money to buy 200 of the 538 acres in Forest Park. Natasha wasn't sure how he'd done it, as it was technically government property, but he'd pulled it off.

The next thing he'd done was convince the nymphs of all the trees in the land he'd bought to allow him to move them into a dense circle around the area. He'd managed to convince Dionysus and Artemis to help him through by doing them several favors. Within about a month, there was a large empty area surrounded by a literal wall of trees that stretched 100 feet into the sky. The wall of trees itself was hundreds of feet thick, which meant that Percy had created a veritable fortress. There was also some strong protection magic woven around it, courtesy of the Norse and Egyptian pantheons.

To get inside, all someone would have to do is walk up to the wall. If they made it past the protective outer barriers, and the wood nymphs decided to trust them, then the trees would bend and a passageway would form.

At the very center of the clearing inside was the Arcadia, which had been built in a week by a team consisting of all the sons and daughters of Hephaestus/Vulcan, all the Roman builders, half of the Cyclops army, a ton of einherji, several magicians, Briares the Hundred-Handed one, and a very determined set of gods from several different mythologies: Hephaestus, Ptah, Poseidon, Artemis, Hestia, Athena, Odin (the Norse god aspect, not the alien), Sif (the alien aspect, not the Norse goddess), Horus, Isis, and Thoth all showed up to chip in. Apparently, the gods who showed up to help wanted the Arcadia to exist for one reason or another.

It was easy to guess some of them; Hestia liked peace, Ptah liked to build things, Odin liked to be random, et cetera. The other gods? They were a little harder to figure out. But Natasha wasn't questioning their motives, because the Arcadia existed, and that was all that mattered.

Naturally, Percy's other reason for building the house was moving the Jackson-Blofis family in. He'd apparently promised himself that he'd get them a mansion, and the Arcadia was his solution.

Natasha hopped off her motorbike just outside of the forest. A group of kids nearby edged closer to get a better look at the LiveWire. She smiled mischieviously, and stepped away from the motorcycle.

"Evanesco." she said loudly, waving her hand at the motorcycle while mentally storing it. It disappeared, and the kids all gasped loudly. She turned and winked, placing a finger over her mouth. They all nodded.

Then, Natasha took a step back into a nearby shadow, passing into a cold, grey world, and exiting directly outside of the wall of trees surrounding the Arcadia.

She walked up to the wall, and as she approached, the passageway opened up. She strolled through, and walked up to the house.

She found the other four members of her family in the kitchen. Sally was feeding Naia, Percy was munching on a blue cookie, and Paul was reading a book. Everybody looked towards her as she entered.

"Alia!!!" Percy exclaimed, abandoning his cookie to wrap her in a hug.

"Am I really so important that you are willing to put down one of Sally Jackson-Blofis's famous blue cookies?" she teased her younger brother.

"Of course you are, sis! It's your birthday!" he protested, kissing her on the cheek. Natasha poked him in the side, laughing.

"Sometimes I think you care too much about me." she joked. Percy gasped in mock outrage.

"Lies and slander!" he exclaimed, an affronted expression on his face. Natasha punched him in the arm.

"Alright you two, sit down. We've got cake." Sally said, a smile on her face. The two siblings did as she said as Paul pulled the promised treat out of the fridge and onto the counter. It was a chocolate with raspberry filling, and it tasted amazing. There was also blue vanilla ice cream, which made Natasha smile. She had no idea where one could get blue ice cream, but they'd managed it.

Natasha sat back with a relaxed grin on her face, looking around at her little family.

"Love might be for children, but this.... this is about as close as I can get." she thought contentedly.

Perhaps her birthday wasn't so bad after all.

Yup. So that's it. I don't know about this chapter... maybe it's the lack of action, but something felt weird about it. Regardless, I hope that you enjoyed the update. - Spathi