Catch Me If I Fall (PJO/Avengers Crossover)

63

On the arena floor, Thor laughed. "YES!!!!"

"Bruce?" Percy gasped. 

"I have to get off this planet," Loki said, his face ghostly white as he began to rush away, with Percy not far behind, trying to get down to the arena to stop The Hulk from doing too much damage and from Thor making him any angrier. 

"Hey, hey, hey, where are you going?" The Grandmaster stopped them both, having ended up in the box, and plopped them in a seat right next to the glass. They set at the opposite end to the Grandmaster. Loki hid his face in his hands, and Percy shifted uncomfortably. 

The audience had gone quite quiet at Thor's very positive and fearless reaction to their horrifying champion. 

"Hey! We know each other!" Thor yelled up to the box, "he's a friend from work!" He turned to Hulk, beaming. "Where have you been? Everybody thought you were dead! So much has happened since I last saw you. I lost my hammer- like, yesterday, so that's still pretty fresh... Loki! Loki's alive! Can you believe it? He's up there with Percy," he waved up at the box, and Percy hid his own face in his hands out of pure embarrassment just as Loki looked up from his own, mortified. "Loki! Percy! Look who it is!!" He turned back to Hulk. "Banner, I never thought I would say this, but I'm happy to see you." 

The audience was getting bored. They began chanting for the game to hurry up and begin. "HULK! HULK! HULK! HULK! HULK!"

"Banner! Hey, Banner!" Thor smiled still. 

"NO BANNER! ONLY HULK!" Hulk pounded his chest and began running straight for Thor. Unconsciously, Percy's hand slipped into Loki's, gripping it tight. Loki looked up and Percy, who hadn't seemed to notice, and was paying attention to nothing but the match. His forehead was creased with worry, his shoulders tensed and jaw clenched. Loki gave it a reassuring squeeze, hoping it provided some type of support. 

"Wh-what are you doing?" Thor asked, panicked. "It's me!" 

He dodged the first few hits, and when he was sent flying he pulled out a sword and dug it into the ground to slow his fall. With every hit they sent towards each other, Percy would tense a bit more, or he'd grimace, or even squeeze Loki's hand slightly, completely encaptured in the game and worry overcoming him. He didn't know who to support, he didn't know who to worry about more. All he knew was that there was no way Thor was making it out of this unscathed. 

"Banner, we're friends, this is crazy. I don't wanna hurt you!" Thor reasoned, drawing another sword and readying himself just in case Hulk decided not to cooperate. 

They ran at each other again, exchanging hits, until Hulk kicked Thor and sent him flying into a wall. 

"Here we go," Grandmaster leaned forward in his seat, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Loki felt a surge of guilt overcome him, and, for a moment, he truly thought about things from Percy's point of view. He decided that he'd have to try and have a conversation with Percy without trying to argue later on, if Percy hadn't already tried to break Thor and Hulk out of here, which, let's face it, he probably would. Loki smiled at that; Percy's selflessness, his impulsivity, his daringness. It was everything Loki loved about him. 

Percy's willingness to take a chance; to try things nobody else would because of the threat of failure, and, yet, he somehow made it work. These thoughts only lasted so long, because, suddenly, Loki looked back at the arena when Percy audibly sucked air in through his teeth to see that Thor had slammed Hulk across the arena with a giant hammer that had originally been held by Hulk. 

"What?" Grandmaster leaned forward in his seat, bewildered. Thor approached Hulk with careful, quiet precision, as though every step had to be planned extensively in advance. He took off his helmet, speaking words inaudible to the box this high up.