Chapter 8: Bruce Sees the Scars
HEY! What's up? Random question, would y'all cry if you got the physical copies of the first PJO series? And Percy's Greek Gods? I did. I was in complete shock when my little sister surprised me with it. Then, I got a new phone which literally added to the shock. It was a few days ago. My gods...I'm still in shock.
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Bruce Banner's P.O.V. (First Person)
Percy was a weird kid. I looked over his file again to see if there was anymore information on him, but there was none. I flipped the paper in the file to the back and saw that Percy hadn't had a physical exam in years. It would be an understatement if I said that I was freaked out.
I went down to living room, from the lab, to see Percy and the others apparently waiting for me. I shot Percy a glare, my scariest one, but he just shrugged. I think he though I was glaring at him for some other reason. I walked up to everyone, and decided to expose Percy's dirty little secret.
"Guys, Percy hasn't had a proper, physical check up in five years," I said, shooting Percy a look.
He blanched, "That's not true. I have a doctor, I just make sure my records don't go into the systems. I can get the records for you if you-"
I shook my head, stopping him, "Nope. We need you to get a proper, in the records, check up."
Percy shook his head fervently, "No way. No how. Never in a gajillion trillion years."
Tony calculated that in his head, "That's not a number. I don't even think that gajillion is a word."
Percy shot him a, "Do I look like I care, Stark," look. I was familiar with it since it was literally one of the only looks we all gave Tony. I looked back at Percy, "Perce, you have to. It's not a choice. If you don't, we can't have you on the team."
I lied. We could have Percy on the team whether or not he had his check up. I just needed to get him to have it. He sighed exasperatedly before saying, "Fine. But, I have a few conditions."
I nodded and he continued, "The visuals and audio in that room have to be turned off. No one except me and Bruce are allowed inside the check up room. Finally, if I get information that you guys overrode the systems and watched the exam, I will not hesitate to bring a knife to your throats. Understood?"
Everyone nodded, seemingly afraid of the seventeen year old teenage boy. He was glaring at everyone, especially me. I gulped, not used to such a terrifying glare (He beat Natasha and Fury! That's not normal). I gestured for him to follow me, and with one final glare at everyone, he shoved his hands into his pockets and reluctantly followed me.
I led him into the inspection room, which, yes, is different than my lab. He sat down on the on a cot and I took my clipboard, ready to ask him some standard questions.
Before I could say anything, though, Percy looked at the camera and said, "Hey, Friday, could you turn off video and audio in this room? Close the shutters as well. I don't want anyone to see the check up. Please notify me anyone overrides the systems."
Friday rang out, "Sure, sir."
Percy looked at me and nodded, "I'm ready for the inspection, Bruce."
I held up my clipboard, "So, do you have any diseases or issues I should be aware of?"
Percy looked up thoughtfully, "I have ADHD, dyslexia, PTSD, and flashbacks."
I gave him a concerned look before asking him, "Okay...you probably haven't been, but I have to ask you. Have you ever been poisoned?"
Percy looked down and counted his fingers before looking at me. I stared at him wide eyed, and he just shrugged, "Too many times to count."
I exhaled, deeply concerned for boy, "Um...have you broken any bones before?"
Percy nodded, "Probably all of them, about two to four times."
I was close to asking what the boy meant by, 'two to four times', but I figured, he wouldn't want to elaborate. He had PTSD and flashbacks. This kid had had a hard life. I set my clipboard down and got out my stethoscope.
I set the tool on his chest and gave him the instructions to breathe in and out, deeply. As I checked his heart rate, I realized that it was beating a lot faster than a normal human's heart should beat. This kid either had a heart disorder or he wasn't human. I decided to stick with the first answer, though I didn't note it down. I wasn't completely sure yet.
I set my tool down and took his blood pressure, which seemed to skyrocket. I tried shooting Percy a look, but he looking anywhere but at me. I sighed and told him that I had to take a blood test to see there were any toxins currently present in his blood system.
He nodded to me, a little apprehensive. I wiped his forearm and used an injection to take out some blood. He didn't even flinch, which was little surprising. I used a pretty thick and sharp syringe. Once I had enough blood to test, I wiped his arm off and gave him a band-aid.
I sighed, "Okay, we're almost done. All I need to do now is check for any abnormalities around your chest area, so can you take off your shirt?"
Percy blanched., "Nope."
I raised an eyebrow, "Even when it's just the two of us? You took extra precautions to make sure no one saw the physical exam."
"And yet, I still don't want to take my shirt off," he said, sending me a five year old, puppy look.
I was immune. Tony and Clint always sent me those every time I got the last piece of pizza. I sighed and massaged my oncoming headache, "Perce, please? It won't take long."
He shook his head, and I took a route that I never thought I had too. I stepped up and yanked his shirt off. He didn't even see me coming, but what I didn't see coming was much worse. There were scars everywhere. I even saw a branding that was burned into his skin. The letter T. There were scars and some disappeared to his torso.
"Perce," I looked at him with sympathy, "Who-"
He grabbed his shirt back, "None of your business."
He put his shirt on and went to leave, but he turned and looked at me, his eyes raging, "If you tell anyone about this, it's bye bye Brucie. Understand? I don't usually make death threats, but this is more serious than anything. Tell no one."
I nodded to him, still in shock from the scars. He turned back and left the room, leaving me to my thoughts. What had happened to Perseus Jackson?
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SO HOW WAS THE CHAPTER? Pls comment, I feel lonely. XD. SEE YOU SOON GUYS!
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