Catch Me If I Fall (PJO/Avengers Crossover)

76

"We told you it was impossible," Percy stood next to Steve outside the compound. They hadn't spoken in five years and hadn't been on good terms for even longer than that. Despite this, Percy made a great effort to remain civil, even though Steve seemed to have no desire to speak to Percy like anything more than one of his soldiers back in the '40's. It was beginning to annoy him.

"The Percy I used to know never would've called anything impossible," he wouldn't meet Percy's eyes. Why had everyone been saying things like that recently? The old Percy. The Percy they knew. The Percy before the snap. Why couldn't anyone just accept that people changed? That he had changed? 

"The Percy you knew was a child," he snapped and, upon thinking about it, he realised it was true. When he joined the Avengers, he had been eighteen years old. At that moment, Percy realised he was thirty.

Age wasn't really an important concept to gods so Percy had stopped keeping track of it quite some time ago. Had he really met all these people that long ago? Steve had gone silent, probably thinking the same thing. Then, just when Percy thought he was going to cry, an expensive-looking car (thankfully) pulled up on the road, directly in front of Percy and Steve. A car he recognised as Tony's, who rolled down the window and looked between them. 

"Why the long faces?" He asked. "Let me guess: he turned into a baby." 

"Amongst other things, yeah. What are you doing here?" Steve asked, unfolding his arms. Tony simply walked out of the car and turned to the trunk, opening it. "That's the EPR Paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you pushed time through Lang- it's tricky, dangerous. Someone should've cautioned you against it." 

"You did." 

"Oh? Did I?" Tony asked, faking his astonishment. "Well, thank God I'm here. Regardless, I fixed it: a fully functioning Time GPS," he gestured to his right hand, which displayed a hologram from the wrist. He then made a peace sign, getting rid of it, "I just want peace. Turns out, resentment is corrosive and I hate it," he looked directly at Percy, as if he sensed the conversation he and Steve had had a few moments earlier.

"Me too," Steve admitted. Percy simply hummed in agreement, slightly too prideful still to comment. Tony raised an eyebrow, pushing for more. 

"What? Do you want me to hold everyone's hands and sing kumbaya?" 

Tony sighed, but he must've been able to tell Percy's words had pure intentions, because he decided not to shoot anything back. He turned to Steve. "Listen, we've got a shot at getting these stones, but I have to tell you my priorities: bring back what we lost? I hope. Keep what I've got? I have to. At all costs. And maybe not dying would be nice." 

"Sounds like a deal," Steve shook Tony's hand, who grabbed something out of the trunk; it was the shield. Steve hesitated to take it. 

"Tony-"

"What? He made it for you," he said. "Plus, I honestly have to get it out of the garage before Morgan takes it sledding." 

After a small period of hesitation, Steve fit his arm into the shield, taking it gingerly. "Thank you, Tony." 

"Will you keep that a little quiet?" Tony asked. "Didn't bring one for the whole team... we are getting the whole team, yeah?" 

"We're... working on it," Steve sighed. 

"Oh, shit," Percy cursed, just remembering what Loki had asked of him earlier. "I have to go." 

*

"Ever teleported before, Rocket?" Percy asked the raccoon with a grin, whose shoulder was held by Loki. Meanwhile, Percy had the responsibility of teleporting who he'd learned was Bruce in Hulk's body. Somehow, the scientist had found a way to combine his intellect with Hulk's strength. That still didn't put Loki at ease, of course, so Percy had resolved to keep his husband and the green guy as far away from each other as possible.