When Peter was twelve he saw a national manhunt on the news for a boy his age, Percy Jackson. He watched it all unfold in real time, the conclusion being a kidnapping of the latter and two companions and a gun fight on the beach with said kidnapper, who escaped. He'd been living with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben for years now, his parents long since dead. He'd even stopped having nightmares about everything, mostly. Until that, until a boy his age was taken right from their city and had fought for his life to survive. He had nightmares during and for a few weeks after the event, afraid of getting taken just as the other boy had.

When Peter was thirteen (going on) fourteen he met Percy Jackson. Peter and his Aunt May had just moved into a new apartment complex at the end of his eighth grade year due to his Uncle Ben getting killed in an 'accident'. Percy and his mother Sally were his next door neighbors. It was so weird, meeting the boy who was on the news and his mom who'd been missing through the whole ordeal. It was so weird, because as far as he could tell, they were perfectly normal. He'd met Percy all of once, and very briefly. (before the other boy mysteriously disappeared for the whole summer). Peter didn't think much of it at first, he was going through his own issues and didn't initially notice when Percy didn't pass by Aunt May and Peter's apartment door getting to his own on the last day of school for the boarding school Percy went to. May noticed, and asked when they went to dinner at Sally's a few nights after the fact. According to Sally, he had apparently already gone off to summer camp with two friends. When May asked about the camp itself, Sally explained that it was a special camp Percy's father had wanted him to go to. All of that got pushed to the back of Peter's mind though and he genuinely forgot about the other boy for the rest of the summer.

When Peter was fourteen he was still dealing with the effects of his Uncle's untimely demise. He entered high school. His neighbor, Sally, started dating an English teacher at Goode High School and said teacher had actually gotten Percy a spot at the school for the next school year.. Peter and Percy didn't see a lot of each other, Percy was going to a different boarding school than the year prior and already didn't have an invitation to stay past finishing that academic year. They didn't even have the opportunity to be cordial with each other because the one time during the school year they would've seen each other Percy was gone. He was gone for nearly all of winter break instead of visiting his mom at home, and when he came back there was a gray streak in his hair and an invisible weight on his shoulders. Percy was different after that. Part of it could've been that him and Peter hadn't seen each other for months while Percy was at boarding school, but Peter was pretty sure whatever had happened to Percy had been more recent than that. He almost seemed more reclusive, and the whitish streak in his hair? It didn't look like a dye job, it looked like the hair had just lost all its color- that was impossible though, so Peter pushed the thought aside and tried to be nice to Percy before the boy disappeared once again, this time back to his boarding school to finish up the academic year.

When Peter was fifteen it's safe to say a lot happened. Percy's just come home to start school at Goode and has changed even more, just not on the surface, more reclusive, more burdened. Peter never has a chance to confront his neighbor about it though because one field trip accident later Peter found himself fighting petty criminals in a red hoodie, then a 'suit' he'd designed himself. He didn't even want to be, but he couldn't not. His Uncle Ben had given his life trying to stop a petty criminal. Peter would be lying if there wasn't a part of him that wasn't doing it to try and find his uncle's killer. He didn't have much luck at that though and gradually just began helping people, not just stopping convenience store robbers and car jackers. Of course, he still wanted to find his Uncle's killer, but after saving a little boy's life he was reminded of his Uncle's key phrase "With Great Power comes Great Responsibility'', put a few things into perspective for him. Didn't mean Peter wasn't bitter about it though. He was 15 and wanted nothing more than to be selfish like the rest of the population of the city he lived in. He had all this power and he still couldn't avenge his uncle...

Despite the care he put into staying anonymous, with his homemade gear and web fluid, Peter was found out by his personal idol, billionaire and superhero, Tony Stark. He visited Peter in his home. If Percy thought there was anything weird about the billionaire passing him in the hallway, he never mentioned it to Peter.

Peter didn't have time to worry about Percy all too much though, Tony Stark gave him a new suit, but ended up dragging him halfway across the world to fight Captain America. Then Peter had the worst school year of his life; he tried to get Chitauri weapons off the streets but it backfired, he got fired from being Spidey, he didn't listen and as a result his homecoming date's father tried to kill him and dropped an entire building on him. That part he kept a secret from everyone though, Happy nor Mr. Stark knew about the building, that was something he was determined to take to his grave -then Mr. Stark offered him a spot on the Avengers, and Peter forgot all about the horrible fight with the Vulture and his neighbor's concerning quietness. (he'd ended up saying no to joining the Avengers though). The best part of his 15 was when he attended Sally's wedding. She had married the nice teacher, Paul. Percy was there and he was the happiest Peter'd seen him, maybe ever. The wedding was a really nice affair. Peter had brought his camera with to the wedding and a really good candid of Percy holding some cake ended up on the wall at the Jackson-Blofis apartment.

That was just before the summer they both turned sixteen and the closer it got to summer, the more preoccupied Percy got, all the happiness from his mom's wedding was gone. He didn't even seem to notice Peter or much else, (which actually came in handy for trying to sneak into his room at night as Spider-Man). Then, like clockwork, he went off to his summer camp abruptly. He'd been visiting with a friend, Peter only knew because the girl had come to pick Percy up at his apartment and it was Rachel Fucking Dare. Rachel Dare, daughter of Waylon Dare, a man who owned like half of New York. Peter never got the chance to ask how Percy knew the daughter of a billionaire because he never came back. Peter wouldn't have thought this too weird for Percy, except this time Paul had to take a bus to go pick up his Prius from wherever Percy and the Dare girl had ditched it. That wasn't the weirdest part of the summer though,

Just after Peter's 16th birthday the entirety of New York fell asleep for several days and the whole world was left wondering what the hell had happened. The entirety of New York fell asleep! Why was it always New York? First the Chitauri invasion and now, not just the city, but an entire state is absent for days?! Spider-Man was working overtime near the Empire State Building, hundreds of people had miraculously woken up and were all running for their lives. Peter hadn't even had a chance to get close to the skyscraper and try and figure out what was going on there was so much damage control to do. Not to mention that for some inexplicable reason around the time all the insanity was ramping down, the top of the Empire State Building started glowing blue and lasted for hours. Pete couldn't stay that long though, the Mayor of New York and the President of the United States had called in the military against the apparent "terrorist attack". Statues, both metal and stone, were found all over New York in strange spots, not in their original positions either. The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and the entirety of Sixth Avenue were somehow overgrown with flora, some not even native to the state or the country. The Williamsburg Bridge was completely destroyed. There was massive property damage all over the city, getting worse and worse the closer it got to the Empire State Building. Cars destroyed, buildings damaged, destroyed city blocks, people misplaced and waking up in the craziest of places, missing phones and even looted stores.. (despite the fact the city had been asleep). New York wasn't the only part of the country struggling though, there'd been a freak series of storms across the country for a little longer than the city'd been asleep. Mount Saint Helens had been destroyed, the second major eruption in two years. The Appalachians, West Virginia, Kansas, a staggering amount of states had been hit as the "freak series of storms" took countless lives. It finally settled just before hitting New York. It was safe to say that Peter had his work cut out for him. There was so much to do, so many people to help

They are sixteen, it is just barely still summer, and Percy is back not long after the Sleep Incident, looking... good, there's this lightness to him. He stays with his mom for a week at the end of the summer looking like that invisible weight that'd been on his shoulder for a few years was finally dissipated. The gray streak didn't look as pale and got swept in with the rest of his hair. He has the most amazing, golden tan like he's lived on a beach his whole life instead of New York City. His necklace that Peter's only ever glimpsed has a new bead. He laughs more, jokes more, smiles more. Sally is happier too. It seems like something good has come to the Blofis-Jackson family. Paul's little Prius still has some unexplainable dents on the hood that looked like someone had tried to hammer them back out poorly, not that the family of three seem to acknowledge it. Percy and Peter start hanging out more, since their summer is rapidly coming to an end. Percy had decided to try and teach his shy neighbor to skateboard and it went pretty terribly. Peter hadn't escaped without some scrapes (luckily they'd healed by the next day), Percy'd eaten shit though, completely thrown from his board and into some rocks but he was untouched... as if his skin was invulnerable. The start of the school year goes fairly smoothly and the duo have begun hanging out when Peter wasn't Spidermanning or doing his Stark Intern stuff, or when Percy isn't at swim practice. Peter starts to trust Percy, starts to seek him out, (even contemplates telling him about Spidey. Doesn't.). Percy still vanishes sometimes (not nearly as much as Spider-Man), and it's mostly just on weekends, (to his camp maybe?). Peter forgot to ask Percy about Rachel Dare and elected to not ask about Percy's disappearing act, figuring it would just bring the other boy to asking about his own disappearing act and that wouldn't end well. Everything seems to simmer down for a while, there's no crazy superhero threats and the first semester of that school year is going rather smoothly, all things considered.

And then Percy is gone, and Sally has never been more worried. Normally he disappears in the summer and to his summer camp that's as elusive as he is. Not in the middle of winter break (well he did once), but not without a single soul knowing where he is. Not disappearing off the face of the planet. To Peter's knowledge, Percy actually had been visiting said elusive summer camp, but then he disappeared from it?? Peter doesn't want to be nosy, truly, but he can't help but overhear Sally's crying through the apartment walls, can't help but overhear her making phone calls to who Peter assumes are Percy's camp director and camp friends, can't help but overhear a conversation full of confusing phrases and things that make no sense between Sally and the blonde girl she let into the apartment one day; they're talking about Percy, but they also keep talking about monsters and underworlds and... gods. Like Thor? For some reason, Peter didn't think so.

Peter himself tries to use Karen's facial recognition software when he's out Spider-Manning, but she never picks anything up. He reckons he's on too thin of ice as it is to try and hack and use one of Tony's AI's instead and do a nationwide sweep. So he doesn't do that, but he wants to.

Months pass and life goes on. It sucks so bad, but there isn't any other choice. The blonde girl keeps coming around to Sally's, rather frequently. Peter doesn't listen in on their conversations anymore. One day, when he actually sees Mr. Stark in person he makes the offhand comment that human trafficking should be eliminated, then leaves without elaborating. A week later Stark Industries has announced they've "Declared War on Human Trafficking" and "Tony will be personally handling the mission along with his Avengering," Miss Potts announced. He does, he makes an AI specifically for that, for finding those already taken, but also preventing anyone else from falling victim to such an awful thing. This AI is named Soteria, after the Greek Goddess of "safety, salvation, deliverance, and preservation from harm". It works too, they're able to track down some victims who hadn't yet left the country and wherever others have ended up. They even get in contact with the countries and work on peace delegations to get everyone back home where they belong, regardless of nation of origin. Soteria ends up benefitting the whole world. (Unbeknownst to them, it makes the Red Room's job a little harder too).

However when Peter learns that Percy's disappearance wasn't documented to the police he feels an ice start to grow in his stomach. He couldn't look at his neighbors for a few weeks, he couldn't comprehend how Sally, the nicest lady ever, could just, not report her son's disappearance to the police.

He does it himself. Not to the police, but to the AI, to Soteria. He puts Percy's information directly into Soteria's database and if there's any sighting of him anywhere in the world, the T.A.H.T. (Taskforce against Human Trafficking) will be notified and send a ping out to the local authorities. Pete sets it up so a ping is sent to himself as well, but as a few more months pass and nothing, it slips into the back of his mind and he forgets.

Peter is seventeen, newly, and he's getting back from a patrol, slipping into his bedroom window as quietly as he can. It's the middle of the night, like, later than Peter normally stays up. There'd been a small gang causing some trouble on what felt like the other side of the city and it had taken Peter longer than usual to get home. He started getting ready to hit the hay when he heard a phone ringing through the wall of the apartment. It rang until it went to voicemail. Peter wasn't super surprised though, the ringer wasn't particularly loud and it was the dead of night. The boy didn't think much more of it as he took a quick shower and went to bed.

He woke up too early the next day to Sally shouting for Paul. Peter again, didn't want to eavesdrop but in his defense, they were shouting and it was hard to not hear. Peter was too groggy to actually pay attention to the sounds of what he assumed was Paul running down the hall towards the kitchen to his wife, asking her what was wrong. That is, until Sally, who was audibly sobbing now, gasped out, "It's Percy, he's alive!" Peter's heart stopped in his chest, his eyes welling with tears out of nowhere. Percy Jackson, who had been missing for a few months shy of a year was alive.

Despite the 'word of mouth' that Percy was alive, there was still nothing about the other boy, not that Soteria could find at least. Peter couldn't help but feel a little ashamed he'd forgotten about the Task Force after so much nothing. He was better about it from that point on though. Couldn't help but get anxious when the blonde girl that had taken to visiting Sally almost weekly had just vanished, just like Percy did. Sally and Paul didn't seem worried though, in fact, they seemed better than they'd been in months, since before Percy disappeared. Whatever that voicemail had been had somehow reaffirmed Sally that her son was alive. Peter carried on, because there wasn't much else he could do. He wanted to believe Percy was alive but he couldn't help but be hesitant, he himself had no evidence to suggest that Percy was alive.

More months pass and there's nothing. On the news one day they're covering international issues, some significant damage to a few blocks in Rome, Italy. Then another month or a few and there's some crazy storm in Greece. The storm in Greece lasts for a couple of days.

And then there's a big storm near the north shore of Long Island. It doesn't last too long, thankfully. A week later Peter is opening the apartment door to go do a grocery run for Aunt May when he stops dead in his tracks, knocking on the Jackson-Blofis door is someone eerily familiar yet unfamiliar all at the same time. A bit taller, more tan but less golden, less invulnerable, more scars, a tattoo? The grey/white streak almost faded entirely. A weight and a lightness all at the same time. In spite of the changes, and the fact it's been over a year, Peter would recognize him anywhere. Percy Jackson is standing there knocking at his mother's door. Like it hadn't almost been two years. Percy Jackson. Alive.

(later when Peter would check Soteria's database for how the hell Percy'd been in New York and the AI hadn't caught it he would just find himself with more questions. Like how the hell countless cameras had picked up visuals of Percy, but for some reason they were all just slightly too blurry to trigger Soteria. When he'd cross reference the blurry photos which he knew to be Percy [because he'd checked the apartment's lobby cameras from the time Percy entered] he'd be faced with more questions still. Like the blurry figure that matched the ones he had confirmed were Percy, after nearly 6 months of no pings, suddenly showing up in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, then days later, Alaska, then nothing for a while [months], then Rome, then nothing for an even longer period[months], and then Greece...

And yet Peter hadn't gotten notified about any of it? And why the hell was Percy just too blurry for the AI to track? Why was there no trace of him for 6 months after he disappeared? Why had he shown up in all these places but it had taken him so long to get home? Why the fuck was Percy Jackson showing up in two places that had had freak problems around the same time the problems happened and then just vanishing again? Just who was this neighbor, this friend that Peter had known for actual years? And, did he even know him at all?)