Chapter 23: Time for Answers

Percy was thrashing now. Tony had joined Steve in holding his body down, trying to prevent any further injury. The billionaire looked worriedly at the teen's face, where he could see Thalia frantically trying to wake him. The bloodstain on his chest was spreading rapidly, and it was taking everything Tony had just to hold one of his arms. Clint had rushed back from the cockpit and grabbed the other arm, and Sariah and Steve had the legs. Bruce was putting pressure on the chest wound to ensure he couldn't buck and make it worse.

Tony flashed back to the Hulk cell where they'd all been in similar reactions during Percy's flashback. He really hoped it wasn't going to become a weekly thing. JARVIS still had to help him through the occasional panic attack, and he knew from experience how straining frequent panic attacks could be.

Thalia had now resorted to slapping Percy in the face, but his eyes stayed clenched shut, though Tony could see them moving rapidly under his eyelids. Whatever Percy was seeing, it was clearly terrifying. And if this kid had faced down gods, monsters and literal Hell, Tony didn't even want to know.

His thoughts were interrupted by a shout from Thalia. "Let him go!" Sariah immediately stood and backed away, and Percy's now-free leg nearly caught Steve in the chin before he wrestled it under control.

Tony stared at her in shock. If they let him go, there was no telling what he would do to himself. Bruce seemed equally confused.

"Why?" the doctor asked. "He'll hurt himself!"

"I'm going wake him up. Anyone who doesn't want to get hit by a small lightning shock back up!"

"You're going to hit him with lightning?!?" Tony asked incredulously. The shock could put too much strain on his already rapidly-beating heart and kill him!

Thalia met his eyes with a stern glare. "You have any other ideas, Stark?"

He didn't. That was part of the problem. He looked at Steve questioningly and the soldier nodded, acceptance on his face. A glance at Clint told him the archer agreed as well. Bruce was reluctant, but nodded.

"On three?" Steve asked, and Thalia nodded.

"One... Two... THREE!" Tony released Percy's arm and jumped back with Cap and Clint. Immediately, Percy's thrashing intensified. Thalia barely kept her grip on his shoulders. Tony watched as her eyes closed and a fierce look of concentration came over her face.

His fingers twitched nervously as the seconds dragged on, and he couldn't help but look at Percy's pained face. Then, Thalia's eyes shot open and a blue shock, similar to Thor's lightning strikes, but on a smaller scale, traveled from her fingers to Percy's body. His muscles seized for a moment, and a scream erupted from his mouth before he fell to the ground limp. Bruce hurried forward, placing two fingers on the teen's neck, trying to find a pulse. A few tense moments passed before relief spread across the doctor's face, and the room immediately relaxed. "Pulse is a little weak, but it's steady," Bruce said. This time, an audible sigh of relief came from nearly everyone in the room. Clint hurried to the cockpit to tell Natasha what had happened, and everyone else watched as Bruce gently pulled up Percy's now-bloodstained orange shirt.

But before the wound was uncovered, Percy shot upright. He leapt to his feet and backed into the wall, chest heaving and eyes wild. Tony stepped back unintentionally, worried that he would scare the boy even more. A glance around told him everyone else had done the same.

Thalia approached Percy slowly as stared at them. His eyes were still crazed, like a cornered animal. Tony's heart hurt as he watched the boy stare at them like they were total strangers. He hadn't known the demigod for very long, but he cared for the teen. They all did. He could see it on the pained expression on Cap's face, in the fact that Bruce had Hulked out to save him, in how Clint was acting like a concerned parent for some reason, and even how Natasha had immediately rushed back when she heard the commotion after putting the ship on auto-pilot. At this point, turbulence was the least of their worries.

Turning back to Percy, he saw that Thalia had managed to get within a few steps of him, and had her hands out in a peaceful gesture. She was murmuring assurances to him as she drew closer.

"Hey Perce. You're okay. Come on, Kelp Head, you're hurt. Let us help you." She took another two steps but stopped when he tensed. "Percy, calm down. We're going to take care of you, and then we'll go find Annabeth."

Annabeth was the magic word. As soon as he heard her name, Percy's muscles lost their tension and his eyes grew clearer. "Annabeth?" he whispered. Thalia nodded.

"That's right, Seaweed Brain, but first you have to let us help you. Come on, you know I'm right. You're safe. Nothing's going to hurt you."

The fight went out of Percy's eyes and he allowed Thalia to wrap her arms around him and slowly lowered them both into seats. Tony didn't miss Percy's wince as he moved. Bruce and Steve approached slowly, with Steve taking the right-side seat and Bruce crouching in front of him.

Tony watched as Percy looked at the two Avengers and saw the recognition in his face. "H-hey Bruce. Hey Steve. S-sorry you had to see that."

Steve was quick to console him. "Don't worry, kid. We get it and we're here for you."

"Do you mind if I check your chest Percy?" Bruce asked softly. "I need to treat it before it gets worse."

Percy nodded, and didn't resist as Bruce gently coaxed his shirt up. The only reaction was a wince as the fabric pulled at the dried blood. The bloodstain on his chest was now larger than an apple and still growing gradually.

As the wound was uncovered, Tony was shocked by how much blood there was. He winced as he watched Bruce gently wiped it away, but his attention was quickly drawn to the cut itself.

He felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He heard Bruce let out a gasp and Clint froze before letting out a curse. Natasha's face became stone. Steve looked at them in confusion before standing and coming to stand by Tony. Once the soldier looked again, his face instantly fell.

Tony only barely registered his team's reaction. His attention was on the bloody cut in the center of Percy's chest. It wasn't huge or deep, no bigger than Tony's hand but clearly painful. But the worst part was the design.

At first look, it looked like a random set of lines. But after a few seconds, you saw the brutality of it.

A large T was now engraved on Percy's chest. The angles and positions of the cuts were too perfect to be coincidental.

T for Tartarus, Tony thought darkly. Somehow, Tartarus must have done this to Percy. Tony cursed mentally. And probably caused him to have that fit too.

"P-Percy?" Bruce's stuttering whisper startled Tony out of its thoughts and he focused on Bruce's pale face. "What happened?"

Percy's shoulders slumped, and Tony saw the exhaustion on his face double before he dropped his gaze. He seemed to be completely conscious and coherent now, but Tony wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Then he said one name that confirmed Tony's suspicions. "Tartarus." The name seemed to chill the air around them. Percy continued. "He's been tormenting me in my dreams." The boy managed to look back up at them and meet their eyes. "I already told Steve a bit, but I didn't think it could get this bad." He met Tony's eyes, and Tony saw the hint of fear in the teen's face. "Demigod dreams are bad, sometimes prophetic, but this... this is different."

"How many times, Percy?" Natasha's voice was hard.

He shrugged. "Three or four?" he replied uncertainly. "First time I thought I was just imagining it. It was the night we got to Camp. Since then its just been faint bruises and weird phantom pains. I thought it was all in my head."

Tony saw a look of understanding cross Bruce's face. "Last night, when I tried to wake you. It was another one of those dreams, huh? I could tell you were in pain and it took several minutes to wake you."

Percy nodded. "That was when I was sure that something was wrong. But I couldn't say anything because Medusa..."

"...attacked before you could," Steve finished for him. An awkward silence filled the room before Steve spoke again. "Did you see Annabeth again?"

Percy nodded, a small smile flitting across her face as he turned to Thalia. "She's alright. Thorn hit her with a spine a few days ago but she's healed from that. She's picked the locks on her chains, so once we make a move, so will she."

As soon as Percy said Annabeth was alright, Tony could see some of the tension and worry flow out of Thalia's shoulders. Mentally, he raised his eyebrows. They must have been close.

They hit another spot of turbulence and Percy stiffened, his eyes widening in fear. "Wait!" he cried. "Are we flying?"

A laugh erupted from beside him. "Seriously Perce? I don't think my dad hates you enough to take me down with you." Everyone laughed as Thalia smirked at Percy.

Percy visibly relaxed and he gave his cousin a look. "Hey, don't act like you're happy to be up here either. After all, you're the one who's afraid of..."

"Shut it, Kelp Head!" Thalia snapped.

"Pinecone Face!" Percy retaliated.

Bruce turned to the group. "As entertaining as this is, do you guys mind? A little room to breathe would be nice. We can finish interrogating and teasing Percy later."

Though he would've preferred to hear more, Tony moved to the back of the jet. Natasha and Clint returned to the cockpit, Steve took a seat near Percy and Bruce in case help was needed, and Thalia ended up near him while Sariah returned to her seat.

Tony watched Thalia out of the corner of his eyes. She was watching Bruce tend to Percy closely, and her expression hadn't quite lost it's suspicious edge. Tony had a feeling that if he did anything to hurt Percy, they would see another demonstration of her Thor powers, but on a bigger scale. Tony was glad they didn't have to worry about it.

"Sooooo..." he began awkwardly. He almost stopped when she turned her gaze to him. "You turned into a tree?" he said as he sat down. He relaxed a little when she let out a small laugh at his bluntness and sat next to him.

"Yeah," she replied. "It was definitely an experience."

"Can I ask why?" he asked tentatively, trying not to be too invasive, but not exactly knowing how.

Thalia's eyes darkened. "Did Percy tell you about our father's agreement with Hades not to have kids?"

Tony shrugged. "I understood the basics."

She continued. "Well, my mother was a famous actress when she met Zeus, and I guess he couldn't help himself. I was born-"

"Wait," Tony interrupted. "Your last name is Grace, right? Grace as in Beryl Grace?"

This time, Tony was sure he heard thunder when the demigod's eyes darkened. "Never mind!" he said quickly. "You were saying?"

She shot him a glare and continued. "My birth broke my father's oath on the River Styx. When you break it, you are given a fate worse than death, but because my father's a god, he can't really get a curse. So instead..."

"You were the one that got hurt," Tony finished. He looked at her sadly. Did Percy have to deal with this too? He thought.

Thalia nodded. "I ran away when I was seven after my brother went missing. I met a son of Hermes, Luke Castellan, and we joined together. Then we found seven-year-old Annabeth and ended up taking her with us. We were on the run, trying to survive with monsters chasing us endlessly. We were finally found by a satyr named Grover, and he brought us to camp, but we were being chased. Hades had sent all three Furies, hellhounds and Cyclopes after us, all trying to kill me. But we were so tired, I knew we weren't going to make it." Tony didn't need to hear how the story ended. "I turned back, and I fought. Luke, Annabeth and Grover made it, but I was... hurt." Tony watched as she shivered. "But before I was gone, my father turned me into a tree. I don't remember much, but everything slowed down, and I couldn't think. I didn't age right either. Technically, I should be in my twenties, but I only aged half as fast as I should have, and I haven't grown at all since I joined Artemis' Hunt. And the rest is history."

Tony just stood there, completely dumb for a few moments. When he'd asked how she'd turned into a tree, he hadn't expected her entire life story. He was kind of honored that she'd told him all of that. He decided to try and change the subject. "Also, Percy said your dad is a total drama queen. Your thoughts?"

Thalia raised an eyebrow at him as they hit an extra-violent spot of turbulence. "Did you seriously just call the god of the sky a drama queen while in a jet in the middle of a storm?"

Tony shrugged, glad he could relieve some of the tension. "I specialize in making powerful people mad."

Thalia laughed. "I can see that." Her voice grew solemn, though, when she continued. "Truthfully, Percy's seen Zeus as many times as I have, maybe more. From the second I was born, monsters have hunted me because of him, and yet I've met him two, maybe three times?" As she spoke, her voice had gotten progressively louder and she grew more frustrated. At one point, Tony was certain he'd seen sparks flickering through her fingers and he leaned away slightly.

Once she was finished, she turned met his eyes and her cheeks flushed. "Sorry. Didn't mean to go off like that. It's just frustrating sometimes." She looked at her hands in her lap and Tony was reminded that she was technically only sixteen. She might be a punk, Greek, female Thor power-wise, but she was still a kid.

Tony raised his hand to put it on her shoulder, but then lowered it awkwardly. To his relief he didn't think she'd noticed. "Hey, I was never hunted by monsters on a daily basis, but I think I get your frustration with your dad." She looked at him, with skepticism all over her face. "Don't give me that look, this is hard enough as it is," he defended himself. "I'm not to great at the touchy-feely stuff." Tony rubbed his hands over his face tiredly. "Look, growing up, I was pretty much spoiled. I had everything I needed, and everyone believed I was a genius and told me I was amazing. That is, except my father." He glanced at Thalia out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was watching him intently. "He was cold, distant. I can't ever remember him telling me he loved me." Tony had to fight to get past the lump in his throat. All of his problems seemed so miniscule compared to being constantly hunted. But he kept going. "Howard Stark was good at a lot of things, but he was a crappy father." He gave a small laugh and looked at Thalia again. "I've never admitted this to anyone, and I don't entirely understand why I'm telling you now. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I kind of understand what you're going through." He made to stand, but he felt a strong hand on his arm, keeping him sitting. He looked at Thalia and was surprised to see the sympathy in her eyes. It was hidden behind several layers, but it was there. He relaxed back into his seat.

"Hey," she said, a playful smirk forming on her face, "if it makes you feel any better, I don't think you turned out too bad, for a man. I mean, you could have turned out a lot worse."

Tony chuckled slightly. "I'm just glad I met you guys now, rather than eight years ago. You would have hated me."

"You're probably right," Thalia agreed. She leaned against the back of her seat, eyes closing and face relaxed. Tony was about to leave when heard she made one last comment. "Thanks for listening Tin Can. You seem like a good guy."

Tony tried to ignore how his heart beat a little faster at that comment. After spending the majority of his career as the 'Merchant of Death', comments like that were few and far between. Too many people had been hurt by weapons that he'd created, himself included. He absently rubbed the glowing arc reactor on his chest as he stood and moved back to the front of the jet. "But if you hurt Percy, I'll stick you with so many arrows you'll look like a pincushion." Tony felt his face pale slightly at the threat, but he grinned.

"Thanks for the warning. Anything else?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Nah, just let me know when your Doc is done and is allowing visitors. Seaweed Brain over there and I really need to talk."

TSTSTSTSTSTSTSTSTST

Steve glanced up at Tony as he settled into the seat next to him before focusing back on Percy. Bruce had given him some ambrosia and was currently bandaging the cuts. Percy was merely sitting there, a blank expression on his face, with only the occasional twitch when the cotton pulled at the wounds.

By the time Bruce finished, Natasha had called back that they were passing over Nevada, and that they would be in San Francisco in less than hour. At this, Tony called Thalia over and she settled on the opposite side of Percy and Bruce sat on the opposite side of the jet near Sariah. The teen barely even acknowledged her presence besides a quick glance in her direction.

"I'm sorry about Mrs. O'Leary, Percy," Thalia said softly. Percy flinched when he heard the hellhound's name. Thalia continued, "I know how much she meant to you." Steve watched Percy's face carefully as she spoke. He was alarmed to see the growing anger and pain in his eyes. "Artemis told us what happened, and I know that's how she would have wanted-"

Percy abruptly stood and stepped away. After a stunned moment, Thalia copied him, while the rest of them watched. "Percy?" Steve tentatively asked.

"Percy talk to us," Thalia said sternly when he remained silent.

"What do you want me to say, Thalia?" Percy rounded on the daughter of Zeus furiously. "That I'm ok? That I'll keep going? That I'm not upset?" His eyes were wide and angry, but Steve could still see some tears forming.

"No," Thalia responded with an equal amount of fire in her voice. "I want to understand that I'm trying to help you! I'm trying to help you face the fact that this happened."

"You don't think I know that it happened?" Percy yelled. "I held her as she died, as the life drained out of her. The same as I've watched so many others die! And it's all I can think about! I don't need your help with that!"

"Maybe you don't," Thalia replied. "But you definitely need help accepting it."

"Accepting what?" Percy was screaming now, gesturing wildly with his hands. "Accept the fact that I'm a demigod? The fact that everyone I love has a target on their back? Or maybe how even getting close to me gets you a guaranteed trip to Hades?"

Steve felt like an intruder on a private moment, and a glance at Tony and Bruce told him they felt the same. He wished he could join Clint and Nat in the cockpit, but any movement at this point would just draw attention to him.

"Accept that these things happen!" Thalia screamed right back. "I know you Percy. I know that you blame yourself for everything, beat yourself up because you couldn't save everyone. Accept that you can't, Percy! You may be half-god but you're still human, and you're sure as heck not perfect. Mrs. O'Leary died because she wanted you to live. So did Connor, so did Bob, and so did Damasen." Thalia's voice softens when she sees Percy's face as she lists off the names. "They believed you were worth it."

"Why?" Percy's voice was soft, almost broken. "Why me? Why does everyone look to me? Why-" Percy's voice broke, and he had to take a moment before he could speak again. "Why is it that when I fail, everyone else pays the price?"

"Because you're the best of us Percy. None of us have your heart or your power. Everyone knows it, except you."

A/N: I feel like I made Thalia a little OOC, and I apologize for that, but I felt like it was necessary. Hope you liked it everyone, and don't forget to REVIEW!!!! They motivate me to post faster!!