Realizing I haven't put the date in a while, lol. Also, I've decided to start diverging from S.H.I.E.L.D. canon more, as the title implies. Not actually THAT Melinda-centric tho. She's actually not in here for that long. Should also mention: AoU's arc is approaching, so that means some relationship development so everything is in place for that. It's kind of filler, I think. Hope you like the chapter!

January 2014

Percy's P.O.V.

"... and that's what C.H.A.O.S. is." he heard Natasha explain as he walked into the conference room. All eyes turned to him as he entered.

"Oh, look who's back from the dead. We were just about to hold your funeral." his sister joked.

"Wouldn't be the first time I walked into my own service." Percy pointed out, smiling.

"Well, while you were out, I explained our little operation, so you're welcome." Natasha told him.

"Thanks, sis. Okay, any remaining questions about C.H.A.O.S. before we return you to your places?" the son of the sea asked.

"Why are you doing this?" Lian May wondered.

"Because we can, really." Percy responded, shrugging. The May-Zhang family seemed to find that an acceptable answer.

"Any other questions?" Natasha ventured. Nobody raised their hands.

"Awesome. So, one more thing: to the demigod camps, my name is Percy Jackson. To those on this ship, my name is Alexios or Alex, the guy they call the Sea Scorpion. To literally everyone else, I'm just the Sea Scorpion, no name attached. It's very important that it stays that way, alright?" Percy warned, and everybody voiced their agreement.

"Perfect. Now, where do you all want to go? We can arrange transport to pretty much everywhere; just follow me to the hangar." Natasha said, gesturing for the May-Zhang family to follow her.

With the exception of May, the entire family left the room. Percy turned towards the older agent, his head cocked to the side.

"What's up?" the son of the sea asked. Melinda took a deep breath.

"I need your help. Skye's in danger, and I can't blow my cover." she started.

"So, I should come with you and keep her safe?" Percy suggested.

"Not what I was going to ask, but if you could do that, that would be great." May responded. Percy shrugged.

"Well, it's not as if I'm doing anything that crazy right now. I shut down Hydra bases, mostly. And eliminate terrible people." he pointed out.

"Isn't there a small problem with the fact that you're basically running an organization of vigilantism? Aren't there supposed to be trials and things?" May wondered.

"Well, we don't really kill the people we target. It seems like we do, and we make it seem like that on purpose, but we actually run them through the legal system. We've got two lawyers, you know. One is this awesome guy named Matt Murdock; he's blind, but still kicks ass. The other's name is Jennifer Walters. They're our prosecution team. Basically, we allow them to get their lawyers, take the case to court with all evidence that has been legally collected, have their victims testify, get them charged, and then we stick them into a remote holding cell. We have it all recorded on physical files and also on video, with signatures from all parties as well. Then, we go in and alter the memories of all civilians involved; it's reversible if we need them to remember what really happened, though. So technically we're not vigilantes; we're an extension of the law. I mean, when I was first starting out, I did kill some people, and that's how I got my reputation, but it was never unprovoked. I always acted in self-defense or defense of another, so Matt and Jennifer were able to build up a pretty solid case on my behalf. If I ever need it, they're pretty confident that they can prove I was completely justified in all cases. It also helps that ever since I was hired as private security of Avengers Tower, by law, I'm legally allowed to use lethal force to defend all my clients. Seeing as I often show up to defend my sister, who is one of my clients, I'm justified there as well. Also, C.H.A.O.S. is carefully constructed as a top-secret division related to S.H.I.E.L.D., so there's also that. And finally, most of our members are legally dead. It's actually not illegal to fake a death, and we don't have an issue of fraud or false identity, either. None of the legally dead members ever leave without a mask, and they live up here, completely separate from society. They don't have citizenships, social security numbers, or identities really. They don't even earn any money, because technically, they don't exist. Of course, when saved, they have a choice to go back, but if they choose not to, their family gets their life insurance, and also guaranteed support from us for the rest of their lives. "

"Wait, how the hell does C.H.A.O.S. make money? Where do you get the resources you have? And how do you have food, water, and electricity, and also support the families of your members?" Melinda questioned.

"Well, if you think about it, it's not like Hydra pays electricity bills, or actually own any land. Hydra itself doesn't own anything because it's not a true organization. They just have a lot of rich sponsors, and make deals with a lot of people. So anything we get from raiding them is ours because we found it, I guess. So all of our resources are either from them, or deals we make, or sometimes a lucky find in a random remote area that we get to first. Like Hydra, C.H.A.O.S. doesn't actually have money either, technically. But we've got sponsors of our own, as well as godly backup. Rachel Elizabeth Dare, for example, she donated five hundred million dollars last year to what had been a small charity run by my mom called the Jackson Foundation, which is dedicated to the support of families who lose someone to service and are profoundly financially affected. Tony Stark also donated one billion dollars to the same cause, which caused some other really wealthy people to do the same. C.H.A.O.S. doesn't touch any of that money, but every member's family benefits from it as well as thousands of other families who lost someone in war, working for S.H.I.E.L.D., or working for the law. Stark also pays me approximately a million dollars a year for my security job, and Natasha gets two million a year for just being an Avenger, which we mainly funnel into the R&D department. Stark has a weird thing about paying his friends; I'm pretty sure he has an account set up for everyone. Anyways, R&D would usually need more money, but it's also backed by the gods, who aren't really allowed to do anything more than let us use Cyclopes and demigods to build equipment from blueprints, which makes things go really quickly. All the Hydra tech we confiscate helps a lot as well. I also make a lot of deals with Wakanda; some people over there pay me in Vibranium, alien material, their own tech, and money for personal protection jobs, hunting down wanted people, infiltration, dismantling assassination attempts, and the like. I don't think the royalty of Wakanda know that they're hiring me, but their head of security finds me quite useful. Regardless of that, Wakanda is a big part of R&D as well. As for water and food, the magical plates and goblets that we also got from the gods can literally summon any food or drink, so that's not a problem. In terms of the ship, the Manta runs on an exact ratio of twelve different ingredients - I can never remember them all, but I know that water from the Styx, Lemnos Fire from Hephaestus's forge, and venti essence are involved. That and the outer layer of highly efficient solar-energy-gathering/cloaking/shielding panels that R&D made allows the Manta to fly, turn invisible like the helicarrier, withstand a lot of force, and also have electricity."

May blinked.

"You're telling me that you and Natasha are able to fund and run an entire organization without any actual support, and you're paying for it with a security job, a friendly gift from Stark, and doing a few odd jobs for Wakanda? And yet, you also manage to support several thousand families without actually paying a single dime because you got some rich people to support them. And on top of that you're technically not doing anything illegal, you save hundreds of lives a day, you don't cause any property damage, and you manage to have the best technology around?" Percy frowned.

"I guess that's the tl;dr version... yes?" May shook her head in disbelief.

"Meanwhile, Coulson is sinking the S.H.I.E.L.D. budget into the ground because he keeps sneaking off on trips to build a helicarrier and thinks I don't know. Plus, we aren't technically a valid organization, we're short on resources all the time, we barely get anything done, and I'm pretty sure that somebody's trying to stage a coup- okay, you definitely need to come with me." May exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. Percy nodded.

"Okay, what should my name be?" he asked.

"Let's go with... does anybody outside of the demigods know you as Percy Jackson?" she asked.

"...no, actually?" he answered, realizing.

"Right, why don't we just go with that?" May decided. Percy grinned.

"I get to officially join S.H.I.E.L.D.! This is awesome!" he declared, bouncing excitedly. May stared at him.

"How old are you again?" she questioned.

"20, almost 21." Percy chirped, grinning madly. The older agent blinked.

"Okay, then. Let's get over to the Playground and get you set up." she said. The son of the sea nodded in agreement, offering his hand to May.

Seconds later, they were gone, leaving the faint smell of the sea in the air.

Natasha's P.O.V.

After sending the Zhang-May family off, she wandered over to the medical bay. There were a couple of agents with minor injuries there, but nothing too crazy. But they weren't why she decided to make a visit.

She walked to the very back of the medical bay, heading towards one of the farthest cots from the entrance. There, Antoine Triplett lay unconscious, as he had been for months. Natasha and Percy had basically put him under a sleeping spell with the help of a child of Hypnos, knowing that once the agent was back on his feet, he'd only wait a little while before heading back into action.

Natasha checked his vitals, making sure that the agent was still perfectly healthy. It was an odd thing to do, considering the fact that Trip wasn't even awake, but it was a necessary precaution. For the first few months after his Terrigenesis, parts of him would phase in and out a lot, and at one point, his arm had regained its normal density while a contaminated scrap of cloth was passing through it. He'd gotten quite the infection from that, and they'd had a hell of a time treating him for it. They definitely didn't want to repeat that ordeal.

Satisfied with the agent's health, she made her way out of the medical bay and shadow traveled back to her room in Avengers Tower. She took a short nap, and then decided to go surprise Bruce and Tony, who were undoubtedly working in the lab.

Naturally, the best way to do that was head through the vents.

However, she hadn't been expecting the vents to be occupied.

"Nat, hey!" Clint greeted her as she crawled around a corner and into his line of sight. She frowned at the sight of her best friend chilling in a vent playing Angry Birds on his phone.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Clint laughed, turning the game off.

"You know I like vents. There's just so many places you can go, and so much social interaction avoided!" he joked. Natasha stared, pulling herself into a small crouch.

"Why do you want to avoid social interaction? You love to talk." Clint was about to answer her question when she shook her head.

"No, don't answer that. What I'd meant to ask was why you're here in the tower?" she wondered.

"Stark called us all in. You know, because Hydra low-key infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and ran off with Loki's scepter, so we need that back?" Clint replied. Natasha noticed that her best friend's eyes darkened at the mention of Loki, but decided not to comment on it.

"Ugh, if there's anything I haven't missed, it's your puns." she said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I haven't missed you at all, because I never miss!" Clint shot back, grinning. Natasha shook her head in mock disappointment.

"Alright, well move out of the way, Hawkeye, because I need to get through." she told him, ruffling Clint's hair.

"Hey, watch the hair!" he protested.

"Okay, Legolas. I'll leave your glorious blonde tresses be." she teased.

"For that, YOU SHALL NOT PASS." Clint retorted.

"But we must move on, we cannot linger." Natasha urged melodramatically.

"Ah, but one does not simply walk into Mordor." the archer replied solemnly.

"Then fly, you fool!" Natasha responded, and sprang from her crouch, launching herself through an opening above her head and up a vertical vent. She could hear Clint chuckling in amusement below her as she climbed upwards, looking for an alternate route to the lab. She finally exited the ventilation system by quietly unscrewing a grate while she hung upside down from a horizontal passage, and then falling straight through the opening.

"Hello, boys!" she called out as she landed on a table underneath the hole in the ceiling. Directly in front of her, Tony stumbled backwards in shock, prompting the head of the project he'd been working on (which appeared to be an Iron Man suit without a place for a person) to suddenly snap around 180 degrees to face her. She hadn't been expecting that, so she backflipped straight off the table, summoning her guns from her necklace, and aiming them at a half constructed face-plate with brightly glowing eyes.

Bruce, who had been sitting at a computer in the corner, decided it was a good time to intervene.

"Iron Legion Protocol, deactivate." he called, and the light in Tony's project's eyes faded.

"What the hell is that?" Natasha wanted to know.

"Um, it's part of the Iron Legion Protocol I'm creating." Tony said.

"And what is that?" she questioned.

"Flying robots that shield and evacuate citizens while we take care of enemies." the billionaire explained.

"That- actually does not sound like a bad idea?" Natasha said, frowning in surprise.

"I know, I'm a genius." Tony grinned, and Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Any chance that someone else could take control of these things?" she asked.

"Nope." Tony stated confidently.

"How do you know? Do you have failsafes for that situation?" she challenged, doubting that Tony would have implemented such a thing.

"No, but they'd have to be smarter than me in order to do that, so not a chance." the billionaire scoffed, turning his attention to the wires in the neck of the machine. Natasha took the opportunity to mock-glare at Bruce, who winced and mouthed an apology at her. A soft smile spread over her face in spite of herself, which quickly disappeared when Tony looked back up at her.

"Red, did you need something? Or did you just come here to criticize my genius?"

Behind him, Bruce held up a small whiteboard. TEXTBOOK NARCISSISM was scrawled in huge letters across the surface. Natasha fought the laugh that bubbled up in her chest and kept her face perfectly blank.

"Well, I just swung by to see what was happening, but I suppose seeing the extent of your hubris is amusing as well. I don't really have anything else to do, though, so I'm just going to hang around." she answered.

"Oh, I see how it is, Romanoff. Just here to monitor me again, right? See, now I'm starting to remember that report you gave to Fury. What did you say on it? Right- " Natasha tuned the billionaire's rant out as he expressed his annoyance about what she'd said when she evaluated him. A minute or two passed, with Natasha pretending to be engaged throughout Tony's speech.

Bruce held up the whiteboard again. This time, it displayed a simple caricature of Tony, with the appropriately large head sitting on a tiny business-suit clad torso, repulsor glove on one hand and a megaphone in the other. She snorted internally. Tony kept talking, and Bruce started to exaggeratedly mock his friend, doing things like pretending to fall asleep or straightening up with a pretended arrogance and pointing at her in an accusatory fashion.

Eventually, Tony noticed that her eyes were no longer focused on him.

"Why do you keep looking over my shoulder?" he wondered, and turned around. He frowned at the sight of Bruce writing diligently on a tablet, going over some numbers. The scientist looked perfectly focused, from his furrowed eyebrows to the slight frown on his face as he fidgeted with a stylus.

"Seriously? You'd rather watch Bruce science than listen to me talk?" Tony exclaimed indignantly.

"Pretty much, yeah. It's kind of what I'm here for." Natasha responded honestly, and then immediately wished she'd said something different.

"You're here so you can watch Bruce science?" Tony clarified.

"Yes." her mind said.

"Shut up." she scolded herself.

"No." she told Tony.

"I'm here to watch all the science. I actually like science, you know. Also, I wanted to see if there was any new tech." she covered smoothly.

"But you think Bruce is more interesting than I am?" Tony asked incredulously. She nodded automatically, and then wondered what had happened to her impulse control when Tony looked confused. Perhaps she'd been spending too much time with Percy.

"He's quieter, and more focused than you are." she explained.

"Plus, I like him." she thought.

"You like Bruce?" Tony exclaimed, crossing his arms, and she swore internally as she realized she'd spoken aloud. Her mind seemed to be intent on exposing her today.

"Yes, of course I like him. He's a good friend." she defended herself.

"And he's sweet and he listens and he's a great person to have your back and he's also such a dork, and he's actually trustworthy and very adorable when nervous." her mind added, and then halted to a stop as it began to wonder why that was relevant. She noticed Bruce shift awkwardly and glance down at the ground, his cheeks taking on a slightly pink hue. She began to wonder why he was reacting that way to a statement about their friendship.

"I didn't say anything weird, right? What if he thinks that we aren't really friends? Wait, are we friends, exactly? What's his definition of friendship? Oh gods, what if we're not friends? No, don't be silly, Natasha. You're definitely friends. Bruce is just being his endearingly awkward self. Besides, if we aren't friends, what are we?" she rambled in her head. She really needed to get a hold of herself; she usually wasn't like this. So why was she different today?

Snapping out of her confusion, she realized that Tony was staring at her, and began cursing in her head again.

"Did I say all of that stuff about Bruce's character traits and the status of our friendship out loud? Shit, please tell me I didn't-" her thoughts were cut off when the billionaire spoke again.

"You have friends? You and Bruce are friends?" The inventor looked between her and the scientist in utter shock.

"Well, I think so. Right? Wait, not this again. Ugh, why is meaningful social interaction so hard? And why am I suddenly having problems with this???" she complained.

"Since when were you two friends???" Tony interrogated. Bruce and Natasha shared a look.

"Since... a while ago." Natasha answered vaguely, not really knowing when their... thing started.

"So, he's your new bro? Are you replacing Barton? Then again, I always thought you and Barton were a thing..." At this point, Natasha's mind just decided to go blank. But she had to say something. She focused on remaining outwardly calm and keeping her voice even.

"No, Tony, Bruce isn't my 'bro', as you put it. Not to be offensive but I just- I really don't see him as my brother, you know, especially because - " she managed, being as casual as her freaked out mind would allow (which was probably pretty casual, if she was being honest).

"Because Clint holds the position of her sibling figure!" Bruce jumped in, probably saving her from either revealing that she had an actual brother or saying something embarrassing about why exactly she didn't see Bruce as her brother.

"Yes, exactly. So, I'm definitely not with Clint, and Bruce is definitely not my brother." Natasha summed up.

"Oh, I get it! It's the other way around. Clint is your bro, and you're dating Bruce!" Tony said in a tone of realization, and then paused, going over what he'd just said.

"Wait, you're dating Bruce?" he exclaimed. At this, Bruce's face flushed with color, and Natasha tried not to show that she wanted to literally disappear into the shadows.

"Tony, no. That's not what's happening here. Natasha and I have bonded over the past few months, and we have become friends. We are not romantically involved, and I am not replacing anyone in any way. She is perfectly capable of expanding her social circle if she wants to, and I've had the privilege of being chosen to be a part of it." Bruce stated firmly, and Natasha nodded in agreement.

"Alright, big guy. I hear you. You and Natasha aren't dating. Sorry about the misunderstanding. But the question remains..." Tony got a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Oh gods, this will not be good." Natasha thought.

"Do you want to date Red?" Bruce's eyes widened and he looked over at her awkwardly, cheeks flaring red again. She didn't blame him. It was a loaded question, especially for the awkward nerd that he was.

From his perspective, if he said no, it might offend her. She might wonder why he didn't want to date her, and then be mad at him. Of course, that's not how she'd actually react, but there was no way that Bruce would suspect she'd feel slightly disappointed by the answer. She'd only just realized that herself, after all. But if he said yes, not only did it have the potential to make things awkward between them, but also Tony would never let it go, and then they would have to deal with him for ages.

"I- I mean, she's an amazing woman-" the scientist stuttered, but Natasha decided to stop him there, especially because it would frustrate Tony to not get an answer.

"And she'd like to save her poor friend before his head explodes trying to figure out what the right answer to that is. Have a good day, Tony." Natasha interjected smoothly, grabbing Bruce by the arm and starting to lead him out of the lab. He looked very relieved that she'd intervened.

"Hey wait, you can't kidnap my science bro!" Tony protested.

"Don't worry, Stark. I'll return him in one piece." she joked, as she guided the flustered scientist into the elevator. The doors shut on Tony's concerned questions about the implications of her statement.

"Thanks for the save." Bruce said, offering her a small smile. She smirked.

"You looked like you needed it." she replied. A minute passed by in comfortable silence. Finally, the doors opened, and the pair stepped out and made their way to a balcony overlooking the city.

Leaning against the railing, they stood watching the bustling city below. Something about seeing it from so high above made it seem so peaceful when in reality, it was anything but.

"So, what's new with you?" Natasha ventured eventually.

"I guess I've just been hanging around the tower, working on a few projects. And I train a bit when I can." Bruce replied.

"What type of projects?" she prodded.

"Mixing mythical magic and machines is the idea behind the ones I'm most focused on. I heard from Peter that a mortal made celestial bronze bullet casings for a biplane, and of course, electronics that are safe for demigods are also a thing. And automatons are very useful. But the more that Hydra gets their hands on alien tech, the more I realize that we need to level the playing field." Bruce elucidated.

"So what exactly are you creating right now?" Natasha wondered.

"I actually finished a project recently. It's uh- it's for you, actually." Bruce said, blushing slightly.

"Really?" Natasha asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, it's - basically I've noticed that shadow-traveling takes you a lot of energy. It's not a viable option for a last-minute escape plan because if you need one, you don't have any energy left. So I've designed something that when activated, collects the kinetic energy in you into magical energy. So as long as you can blink, you can shadow-travel at least ten miles away. It's also something that you'd be able to keep with you no matter what. It's completely invisible until you activate it." he told her.

"That's- that's amazing, Bruce. Thank you." Natasha replied sincerely, touched by the gesture.

"The thing is- when it's visible, it looks like a pair of tattoos that kind of stem from the outside corners of your eyes and stretch across the sides of your face. I'll have to apply it to your face in the right pattern - otherwise it doesn't collect the maximum amount of energy. That might take a while." Bruce warned. Natasha shrugged.

"I don't mind." she said. Bruce sighed in relief.

"Okay, good. I'll need some time to prepare it; would you be okay with meeting me back here in two hours?" he asked.

"Fine by me." Natasha agreed, stepping a bit closer to him. She carefully leaned up and placed a lingering kiss on the scientist's cheek. When she pulled back a few inches, his eyes were as wide as Steve's shield. She smirked at him fondly.

"See you later, Bruce." she said softly, before moving away and heading back inside, leaving the man speechless on the balcony.

Internally, she tried not to panic.

"Shit, I'm in trouble." she thought.

Melinda's P.O.V.:

She strode through the doors of the Playground, Percy trailing behind her as she walked with purpose towards the medical bay. She was almost completely certain that she'd find a couple members of the team there, checking in on Skye and her injuries.

"May, you're back! Where did you go?" Simmons exclaimed. Skye sat in a chair next to her, the bruises on her arms visible. May winced as she remembered the incident when Skye had turned her earthquake powers in on herself to control them, resulting in fractures in her bones.

"And who is that?" Mack wondered, noticing Percy.

"This is Perseus Jackson, but he goes by Percy in casual settings and Jackson while on mission. I brought him here to help out." May introduced.

"Nice to meet you." Percy said, waving a little.

"Help how? Also, where did you even find him?"  Bobbi frowned.

"He has quite the useful skillset. And I have many connections. Percy is the younger sibling of an old friend." Melinda answered.

"What do you mean when you say he has a useful skillset?" Coulson spoke up, glancing warily at Percy.

"He can help us with our current situation." May told him, belatedly realizing that she should probably be more clear.

"Current situation? What, you mean the earthquake powers that I can't control? How the hell is this guy going to help with that?" Skye burst out.

"I didn't mean-" May tried to soothe the agitated agent, but she wasn't having it. The room started to shake.

"I'm dangerous, May! Adding this guy to the team isn't going to keep you guys any safer! The issue here is that I can't stop my powers! So just back off! Please!" Skye yelled, her voice breaking into a sob as the shaking got worse, causing everyone to stumble. May stepped forward, arms raised in a placating gesture, but Percy was faster.

He slammed his fist into the ground, leaving a small crater in the ground and creating a shockwave. The shaking in the room stopped abruptly. Everybody turned to stare at him in surprise.

"May brought me here so I could help in any way I can. You and I don't share the same powers, exactly, but I can teach you to work with yours without hurting yourself." Percy told her.

"And what the hell am I supposed to do with the ability to shake a room?" Skye bit out sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised at how useful that can be, but I have a feeling that your powers extend beyond that." Percy replied.

"Beyond this? I don't want to explore beyond this! Don't you realize what might happen if I lose control? I could bring this entire base down." Skye pointed out incredulously.

"I'm very aware of the risks, Skye." Percy reassured her.

"Really? Because I don't think you are.  Her powers are more dangerous than you think." Mack interjected. Percy turned to look him in the eye.

"The first time I ever used my powers over earthquakes, I blew up Mt. St. Helens and caused half a million people to evacuate, some of them with minor illnesses and injuries. Trust me when I say I know about dangerous abilities." he said flatly.

"Wait, that was you???" Skye exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Not my finest moment." Percy winced.

"How are you even alive?" Coulson questioned.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that I ended up flying through the sky and landed somewhere in the ocean. I washed up on a island inhabited by one person. She nursed me back to health, and then sent me off on a raft. It took me a while, but I eventually made it to New York. It was a fun two weeks." Percy said, grimacing.

"Mt. St. Helens is in Washington. And you took a raft back to New York... you generated enough energy to fling yourself all the way across the United States and then land far enough in the Atlantic to encounter a remote island with no technology?" Simmons calculated, eyebrows raising in astonishment.

"I guess... it was a time." Percy sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Alright... well we're glad to have you, Jackson. Fitz, can you find him a bunk?" Coulson directed, and the engineer nodded.

"Yeah, um, Jackson, just follow me." he said, leading Percy out of the room. Bobbi and Mack shared a glance and then walked out. Simmons went back to fussing over Skye. 

Coulson gently touched May's arm, prompting her to look at him.

"Do you trust him?" he asked.

"With my life." she said with no hesitation.

"Then I'm glad to have him on board." her best friend stated, smiling.

"So am I."  she agreed. Hopefully, Percy's presence around here would change things for the better.

She prayed that this wouldn't blow up in their faces in the end when all their hidden truths came to light.

Percy's P.O.V.

Once he got settled in his bunk, he immediately made a call.

"Hey, Ella!" he said into the phone.

Ella was a daughter of Hecate who shipped his sister and Bruce almost as much as he did (he was the captain of the ship, after all). Percy generally contacted her for specific orders of potions, and sometimes to update her on #Brutasha.

He listened for a second to her excited chatter.

"I mean, if I'm reading her right (which I probably am) she's starting to figure it out, thank the gods." he said, grinning.

Percy paused, tilting his head as she spoke again.

''Right? They're blind. It's actually so frustrating!" he exclaimed in exasperation.

Ella asked him a question.

"How soon? I'd say that they're pretty close to that chapter of their lives." he responded. He then frowned as the phone seemed to be dropped on the other end.

Faintly, he could hear Ella yelling to someone, and then there was a huge uproar of clapping and cheering. When the daughter of Hecate returned, he asked a question of his own.

"Did you just update the shippers? I knew it." He flopped backwards onto his new bunk.

"Yeah, of course I'll continue to give you updates. I could never abandon such a great story!" he reassured.

"I'm working right now, yeah. That reminds me- could you send over some of that extra strength knock-out agent? And maybe a little truth serum?" he requested, smiling when he got a positive answer.

"Thank you so much, Ella! I'll tell you if there are any new developments! Tell everyone I said hi! Bye!" he said, slipping the phone back into his pocket after he ended the call.

"Now I'm curious... how is Natasha doing?" he murmured to himself. He suddenly froze, cocking his head as he received a few panicked thoughts and confused emotions through their empathetic bond.

"Oh, I definitely have to go check this out." he thought.

He poked his head out of his bunk and into the hallway, catching sight of May and Coulson walking down the corridor.

"May? Director Coulson?" he called. They turned to look at him as he stepped fully into the hall.

"I was just wondering if I could pay my sister a quick visit? I'm not sure she knows where I am, to be honest." he asked awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. Coulson glanced at May, and the pair seemed to have a conversation with their eyes.

"Yes, you may. Just be discreet." Coulson finally said. Percy really wanted to make a joke about how he wasn't May, but refrained from doing so.

"Thank you!" he said, beaming widely and then practically skipping to the doors of the Playground.

He slipped out of the base, and ran until he was sure that they weren't watching him. Then, he disapparated with a large crack.

Okay, so maybe he didn't. But he did vapor-travel all the way to Avengers Tower, landing right outside of Natasha's door.

"Alia!!!" he called. Natasha opened the door a minute later, surprised.

"What are you doing here?" she wondered.

"Well, I'm going to go join S.H.I.E.L.D. as Percy Jackson, and figured I should warn you???" he told her.

"You - what?" she asked, frowning.

"I'm joining S.H.I.E.L.D." he repeated. Natasha opened her mouth, closed it, and then shook her head.

"Alright." she said simply. Percy grinned.

"So what's been happening here?" he interrogated.

"It hasn't been that long since we last saw each other, you know." she deflected.

"Yeah, but Bruce is here?" the son of the sea pointed out.

"So?" Natasha said as uncaringly as possible.

"So I heard that he's sweet, and he listens, and that he's adorable, to name a few things. And I believe that SOMEBODY was feeling a bit panicked, recently?" Percy started.

"I sent those thoughts to you???" Natasha groaned.

"Maybe a few of them." he teased. His sister rolled her eyes, and dragged him into her room. She closed the door behind them, sat on the edge of her bed, and made a go-ahead gesture at him. Percy rubbed his hands together in excitement, plopping down on the ground and crossing his legs.

"Okay, so, spill." he ordered, leaning forward in interest. Natasha was silent for a little while.

"I like Bruce." she admitted finally.

"Yes, this is an established fact. Go on." Percy said impatiently.

"No, but - I think I like him." She emphasized the word like, widening her eyes and fidgeting nervously.

"You like him?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrows on the "like".

"Maybe?" she answered, stretching out the word.

"You, Natasha Alianovna Romanova, have finally realized that you just might like Robert "Bruce" Banner?" Percy clarified.

"Yes. Wait- what do you mean finally-" she was cut off by Percy throwing his arms into the air.

"YES! YOU DON'T HAVE THE EMOTIONAL RANGE OF A TEASPOON. THANK THE GODS!" Percy yelled.

"Calm down, dammit! And really, Potter- Percy?" she hissed indignantly.

"Roonil Wazlib. You amazing, red-headed person. Now that you have figured out that you like the person who is most likely to be found reading because they are a huge nerd, please go take that Gryffindor courage you have within you and snog them." Percy declared solemnly in a British accent. Natasha lunged at him and whacked him over the head with a conveniently available book. Several times.

"Will - you - stop - teasing - you - complete - arse - Percy - Weasley!" she ground out between blows, laughing slightly as she donned an accent of her own.

"Does this mean I'm older than you now? Wait, no - stop - ow!" Percy wondered as he shielded his head, wincing as Natasha managed a particularly hard blow across the back of his head.

"Oi- focus on the problem, will you!" she pleaded.

"What problem?" Percy asked in his normal voice.

"I like Bruce Banner!" his sister reminded him, going over to a small refrigerator she had in her room and grabbing two bottles of water.

"Yes. You do. And?" he questioned, rubbing his head slightly.

"And I think I've kind of been flirting with him for a while but didn't realize because I'm used to flirting?" his sister added, passing him one of the water bottles.

"You definitely have been. What's the problem?" he deadpanned.

"I also kissed him on the cheek while on the balcony earlier?" she continued. Percy stared.

"Well, I suppose that's some progress." he sighed, rubbing his temples. He opened the bottle and took a sip.

"In less than an hour, he's going to tattoo my face." his sister told him. He promptly choked on the water and started coughing, spilling a quarter of it down his front. He dried off immediately, but continued coughing, managing to cap the bottle and take a few deep breaths.

"He's what?' he wheezed.

"Did she just say-" he thought.

"He made this thing that allows me to shadow-travel when I run out of energy, and he has to apply it to my face like it's a tattoo. And when I use it, it glows, but otherwise it's invisible?" she elucidated.

"Why didn't you just say that?" Percy asked.

"Why'd you choke on water? Aren't you able to breathe in it?" she shot back. Percy glared at her slightly.

"That's nice of him, I guess. But- you said he has to tattoo it on? I don't think you'll have a problem with the pain... but are you going to be able to stay calm throughout it?" he teased his sister.

"Why would I not?" she wondered.

"Well, it's going to take a while, and he'll be right there, and you'll literally have nothing to do but look at him or think, and you'll probably be thinking about him, so..." he trailed off as Natasha's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh gods.... wait but I have a great poker face -  I'm a spy, remember?" she said.

"But you're basically in love with him, and you're mostly human." Percy pointed out.

"True-  wait hold on what? I'm not in love with him!" she protested. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm not! I just- I'm the Black Widow! I don't fall in love." she exclaimed, an anguished expression on her face. He suddenly realized the problem and immediately wrapped his sister in a hug.

Percy understood why she was so scared. She'd been trained by the Red Room that love was for children. After all the time she spent with them, it was hard for her to let go of that. He knew she loved him as her brother, and loved Sally and Paul and Naia as her family. She loved the Avengers, and the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. she knew as well. But she rarely, if ever, vocalized it in that way because she almost felt incapable of feeling love. She considered her love a deep care and loyalty instead of what it truly was because she was terrified. The Red Room had taken away all that she loved as a kid; she was afraid that loving someone meant losing them. And so she couldn't bring herself to use the word love, and she was wary of letting people close to her.

"Okay... but you care for and respect him deeply. You- you adore him." he tried. Natasha exhaled deeply.

"Yeah. I adore him." she said softly, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

"It's okay that you do, you know." he reassured her.

"I hope you're right, Lex." she said, turning her head to look at him.

"Oh, come on, Tash! When have I ever been wrong about these type of things?"  he joked.

"You're wrong a lot, but you do have a good sense for people." she acquiesced.

"There you go! And that people sense tells me that he adores you too. It's just hard because you're both scared of letting yourself be vulnerable. You both think that it's dangerous." he told her.

"Isn't it dangerous, though?" Natasha asked him.

"Love is a dangerous game, Nat. No matter who the players are, there is risk involved. For you and Bruce, it's highly risky. But if you can brave the risk, the reward will be worth everything." he said, hoping he sounded wise.

"And what if I'm forced to choose between you and him? What will I do then?" she asked him in a small voice.

Percy squeezed his sister as tight as he could without hurting her.

"Natasha, in that case, you do whatever feels right to you, knowing that someone will always be there to help you pick up the pieces." he advised her. Then, he pulled away from the hug, looking her in the eye.

"Just remember two things." he started. in a firm tone, hands on her shoulders.

"Number one: no matter what, I will ALWAYS be there for you. Nothing can stop me from having your back and being by your side, alright? Number two: I will do everything in my power to make sure you never have to make that choice. Whatever it takes, if I can help it, you will never need to choose." he promised her, and she nodded, a bit shaky.

"Good. Now, raise your head high and further your thing with Bruce. You are a queen, now act like it, sis." Percy commanded, and Natasha laughed.

"Alright, little brother. I'll see whether he feels like getting out of the tower. Maybe we can catch something on Broadway." she replied.

"That's the spirit. Go get him, tiger!" he cheered, and Natasha chuckled.

"Thanks, Lex." she said seriously, pausing as she stepped out of the room.

"No problem, Alia! Now go, get out of here! Time is ticking!" he responded, and pushed his grinning, totally love-struck sister out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"Ugh, finally, she realizes. It only took forever!" he complained. Then he squealed slightly.

"Oh my gods. It's HAPPENING. IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING." he yelled in excitement, dancing around the room. He suddenly remembered something he'd promised to do.

Whipping out his phone, he went into his recent calls and tapped on a number. He waited for the call to go through, and then grinned when he heard a faint greeting on the other end.

"Ella, you would not believe what happened..."

Okay, finally done with this one! Hope you enjoyed it, although there wasn't much May - we did get some character development though!!! See you in some unspecified time with the next chapter! Thanks for all your support, by the way!

- Spathi