CHAPTER SEVEN

The kid shoved Tony aside, but Steve stepped forward into his place.

"No, seriously. What is going on? Are you like Percy?"

He laughed nervously and glanced behind him at the giant dog he called Mrs. O'Leary. "What? What's Percy like? Except dying while we're standing here? I'm Nico. I'm his cousin." Steve looked at him, and Nico shivered. It was like his soul was being X-Rayed by the piercing blue eyes.

Steve stepped aside to allow Nico to reach Percy's side.

"Steve - what - who?" Tony spluttered. Nico ignored him, and took a long look at the unconscious blue Percy, then nodded decisively, as if confirming something. He turned around, back to the dog, then groaned, realizing that she was still asleep.

"I can't overextend myself," he muttered to himself. "But Percy did, and he's dying," he argued back. "I need to help him."

"Okay." Steve stepped up in front of the teenager. "I don't know who you are, or what you are arguing with yourself about, but if Percy needs specialized treatment, and you know what it is, you need to tell us so we can provide it."

"Provide it?" Nico laughed derisively. "You mortals don't even know that it exists." then he covered his mouth, like he'd said too much. "Oops."

"Mortals? Are you like Thor? Pew, pew?" Tony mimed shooting lightning with his fingers.

"Thor?" Nico asked blankly. "Who's-"

"Nevermind Thor," Steve interrupted. "Percy's dying."

"Yes," Nico said smartly, and seemed to make up his mind. "I'll be right back." He turned around and walked in the opposite direction of the door.

"Kid," Tony said blankly. "The door is that way."

"I know," Nico called back without turning around. Then he vanished, seeming to melt into the shadows cast by the medical light over the bed.

Steve stared at the place that Nico had vanished into, while Tony sat down tiredly.

"I can't deal with this stuff anymore," Tony complained. "I'm too old." Steve turned around and stared at him.

"You're too old?" Steve asked incredulously. I'm almost 101!" (as of present date, July 2nd, 2019, not when it takes place in the story).

"Yeah, yeah," Tony flapped his hand. "But you were asleep for, like, 70 years. Technically you're not even 35 yet." (33 as of written date but this obviously is not the same time as the fanfic and does not take Endgame into account). "You couldn't run for president even if you wanted to."

"Is that a challenge?" Steve questioned.

The door opened, and Steve turned to look at it. Bruce stepped into the room, carefully avoiding Fury's ashes. Wow. How were they going to explain that? Steve snapped himself out of his reverie when Bruce started talking.

"Fellas, we've got a problem."

Tony snorted sarcastically. "Noooo, reeaaally? I thought everything was just peachy."

Bruce stared at him exasperatedly. "The kid isn't human."

"Well, yeah." Steve turned his chair around to face them. "He has superpowers."

"I know, I know, I know," Bruce muttered. "But you, Steve, you have powers, right?" He continued before Steve could answer. "Your DNA still comes back as completely human, just a little bit altered in certain areas. Same with mutants. Just a little bit of altered, completely human, DNA. This guy right here, only half of his DNA is human."

"Wait a second." Tony held up a hand. "If what you're saying is true, this dude should look even remotely human. Heck, we share about 44% of our DNA with bees. That doesn't make them human."

"Correct," Bruce affirmed, "but the DNA that isn't human in him codes for the same traits, just in different ways. Like if Thor or another Asgardian .... produced offspring ..... with a mortal. They would still appear completely human, because Asgardians share many of our traits, but fundamentally not."

"So is he half Asgardian?" Steve asked blankly.

Bruce glanced at the teen in the bed.
"No, I just used them as an example. I have no clue what he is."

Suddenly, the shadows in the corner of the room coalesced into two figures. Nico, and another strange boy with blond hair and freckles splashed across the bridge of his nose, who had two creamy feathers clenched in his fist.

Nico held the three men back from interfering while the blond boy rushed to Percy and placed the feathers on his head and chest, murmuring an inaudible phrase. When he finished, he walked back to Nico.

"Remember, as far as you know, he's missing," Nico whispered, and the pair disappeared back into the shadows they had sprung from.