lmao gotcha

Seven ADHD teens trying to pack is sure a sight to see. Percy hadn't even realized how many of his and Annabeth's things had been spread around their room until they were collecting it all. Majority of it was weapons and armor because, obviously, those are the most important things to bring on quests with them. Other than that, clothes were tossed in random places, and Annabeth's plans were strewn about the desk. With their recent adventures, the time actually spent in this room for more than a couple hours at a time was slim.

"Almost ready?" Piper interrupted Percy's thoughts as she knocked on their door frame.

"Yeah, almost. I just need to figure out how to pack our armor…" Annabeth answered, glaring down at the messy suitcase in front of her.

Piper laughed, "Oh, yeah! Tony made us special cases for them. I'll go get yours."

Annabeth seemed ready to explode, so Percy stepped in before Piper became a victim of the daughter of Athena's rage. "Thanks, Pipes. We'll bring it all out to the living room."

Sensing her friend's mood, the daughter of Aphrodite rushed out of the room, waving a hand over her shoulder.

Chuckling, Percy walked up behind his girlfriend and lightly kissed her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her and letting her sag against him.

"Chill out, 'beth. We're almost done," he whispered.

She sighed, "How do you always know when I'm stressed?"

"You're not exactly subtle, but I've known you since we were twelve, when I was usually the target of your frustration. So you can trust me to know you best," he answered.

Turning in his arms, Annabeth wrapped her arms around his midsection, straining to give him a kiss. Just when it was about to deepen a bit, a blaring alarm sounded from all around them.

"GOD DAMMIT TONY! WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING WRONG!" Percy yelled up at the ceiling, assuming that the billionaire had somehow programmed JARVIS to do this.

"I apologize sir, but that alarm was not for you. It appears that there is a group of cheerleaders attacking the Avengers in the main living areas," the British A.I. responded.

Percy dropped his forehead against Annabeth's, "Why can't we just have one normal day?"

She laughed, "We both know that's wishful thinking."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, dragging his feet out the door, his girlfriend on his heels.

Ω ♆ Ω

Percy should've known the moment he heard 'cheerleader.' He just KNEW that it had been too long since he'd had a run-in with this particular monster. The Fates had been too nice letting him off this easy for so long.

So when he and Annabeth ran into the living room to find the Avengers and their fellow demigods fighting Kelli and a group of her friends, he was not surprised. However, he was pissed. They were SO CLOSE to getting back to camp, where they could train and relax without worrying about annoying empousa.

"Please tell me your not stupid enough to try this again," he growled out, flicking the cap off his pen and walking casually towards his opponent.

Kelli must have ordered the other monsters to not fight him because the others just kept his team busy while he had a free walk straight to her. He never realized how long monsters could hold grudges, but he should've known after taking a walk down Ancient Greek history road.

"Perseus Jackson…we meet again," she growled, her fangs flashing out.

"Hey, Kelli. How's Tartarus? Did you give him my love?" he said, smirking.

With a growl, the monster threw herself at him, nearly slicing his face open with her claws.

Backing up a few steps, Percy chuckled, "Woah there, Kelli. I thought we could be civil. For old times sake!"

He knew he was provoking her, but when had anyone known him to deescalate a situation? His name means destroyer. His mom was asking for it.

"I'll kill you this time! Then I'll eat you and move onto your mother. She still lives in that old apartment, right?" Kelli spoke, stalking towards him.

Percy's eyes darkened, "You should not have brought my mother into this. I was going to make this painless, you know. But now…I think I'll draw this out a bit."

With a move quicker than any mortal could see, the son of the sea pushed his hand forwards, guiding the water from the pipes to explode out of the walls and surround Kelli in a swirling tornado of water.

He might have been scared of how this barely bothered him, but he had accepted that his powers were evolving. He had to grow with them.

Stalking forward and maintaining his show of power, Percy drove Riptide clearly through Kelli's abdomen with a snarl. That monster was one of the main reasons he couldn't enjoy a simple day out with his girlfriend.

Kelli let out an ear splitting shriek as she dissolved into gold dust, and made her way back to Tartarus.

"Bye, Felicia," Leo joked.

"That was awesome, Perce!" Jason exclaimed, clapping his cousin on the back as he put away his sword.

"THAT was nothing. That she-devil has been haunting me since middle school. I still find it shocking she thinks she can take me," Percy responded, capping Riptide.

As the rest of the Avengers started putting away their weapons, Tony sighed, "See, you kids say things like that, and it makes me wonder how you're still alive."

"Same, dude," Frank laughed.

Glancing at the clock, Annabeth jumped, "Chiron's expecting us at camp in twenty minutes! Let's go, people!"

Percy had been the leader in battle, but Annabeth was the leader anywhere else, and when she spoke, they listened.

"Got it, boss," Leo saluted on his way out.

Everyone else quickly dispersed, rushing to gather their bags in the living room as originally planned. As expected, each person had one duffel filled with mainly clinking metal: A demigod's survival pack.

There was an unexpected awkward silence as both groups prepared to say their goodbyes. The past couple of weeks had been so full of action, and now nobody knew how to leave it all behind.

Of course, as expected, Tony Stark could always be expected to break the tension with an inappropriate comment. "JARVIS isn't going to find anything gross in your rooms, is he? He's already traumatized enough working for me as it is."

Rolling her eyes, Piper answered, "No, dickhead," and with a smile, weaved a bit of her powers into her words, "Now slap yourself."

A resounding CRACK was heard throughout the room as Iron Man slapped himself (hard) across the face.

"OW!" he yelped.

Percy wanted to scold her at least a little bit, but the situation was just too funny. He may be Greek, but that was karma if he's ever seen it. He would've laughed too, if he didn't feel a sharp pain in his torso at that exact moment. Glancing down, he saw a sword going straight through his stomach, blood pouring out in waves.

He coughed into his hand, noticing blood coming out of his mouth. As he looked up at his friends, he saw identical looks of shock on their faces, and if he wasn't bleeding out, he would've laughed at the sight. Unfortunately, he WAS bleeding out, and whoever had stabbed him had just pulled the sword back out, which hurt like Hades.

Distantly, he heard Annabeth gasp, but he was already falling forward with rapidly less consciousness. He could still feel the blood leaving his body, but he didn't have the energy to try to push it back in. Of course his new power upgrade would come to bite him in the ass in this way. It was only right.

As he fell into the darkness, he could hear fighting happening, but it was so far off, and it seemed even further away now. And he was so tired. Every breath felt infinitely worse than breathing in Tartarus. It felt like his lungs were being ripped apart.

His last thought before finally succumbing was this: Why doesn't it hurt anymore?

Ω ♆ Ω