Chapter 41: Birthday Part 2

Virginia Potts observed the group as they all sang to the boy Happy Birthday. She watched as the bald was the first to cut the cake and feed it to Isaiah in a motherly manner after he had blown the candle.

"Was she the mother?' she thought.

Everyone was given pieces of cake and the group happily ate them.

'Why was it so important to hide him? What did he mean when he said that he only found out that his son was alive five months ago?' she thought.

Soon, it was time for the presents. Nico had gotten Isaiah a full deck of Mythomagic cards.

'Everyone should learn to play Mythomagic. It's an unwritten rule of the universe." the boy had said as if being addicted to a card game was normal.

Bianca had gotten the boy some books that he like to read.

Percy and his mother gifted him some clothes.

Tony had gotten the boy a Rolex watch and Happy had also gotten him some books.

Fiona had gotten the boy another set of combat clothes. She had said that they were an improvement from his previous ones as they could withstand ten high-tier spells as well as being self-cleaning and they could also fit the wearer. Pepper looked confused when she heard the woman's explanation.

'Was it some sort of game they were playing?;' she thought.

About an hour later, everyone was sitting in the living room. Pepper was seated next to Tony Stark and everyone was looking at her. She was getting increasingly nervous about the situation.

"Alright, now that everyone is here. I believe we should tell Pepper, here, about the other side of this world." Tony started and everyone agreed,

"It wouldn't matter if she knew about us, anyway since she's a non-clear-sighted mortal." Percy and the ones involved in the Greek World nodded.

The Ancient One then spoke,

"Since Miss Potts will now get to know Isaiah, secrets will only be detrimental to their relationship. She could also help the child when he needs it," the Sorcerer Supreme said.

It was then Pepper interjected,

"Sorry. I don't mean to be rude, but what do you all mean?" she turned to Percy, "You talk about mortals as if you aren't one," Finally she turned to Tony,

"Tony, what's going on?"

Tony sighed and looked at her in the eyes dead serious,

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but please bear with us and keep your questions until the end of our explanations. Okay?"

Taken aback by her boss's expression, Pepper could only nod.

Tony nodded,

"Alright. So here is how it goes..."

For the next hour. Tony explained everything to his assistant. The others would sometimes interject to add their points. They didn't get into details of the powers the kids possessed or how Isaiah got his powers and just explained their circumstances as well as the hidden side of the world. Those with powers would show them off Finally, at the end of the explanation, Pepper looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown, It honestly looked quite funny to Percy but he didn't say anything.

"I see." Pepper simply said after hearing everything.

Tony looked at her,

"Pepper?"

Pepper looked like she was in a daze before snapping back to reality,

"I actually don't know what to say. This is all so overwhelming. I have heard that people with extraordinary abilities existed, but gods, monsters and magic? That's a whole different story." she softly said. She turned to the birthday boy,

"I'm sorry about your mother. She must've been an amazing woman. It must be hard for you because of your amnesia."

Isaiah smiled,

"Yeah, she must've been."

"Is there nothing you guys can do to recover his memories?"

However, the boy replied,

"Nah. Due to circumstances, my memories were lost during that accident and modern science cannot help. Even magical means cannot help."

"I see."

"We know that is quite overwhelming, but Isaiah's situation is a complicated one. He has been living with Mr. Stark for two months now, but he can't hide every time you come over. There is also the fact that they will need your help when Mr. Stark completes his paperwork for Isaiah." Fiona said.

Pepper slowly nodded,

"Right."

Seeing that she wasn't in the right state of mind, Tony spoke,

"Alright Pepper, I think you need to digest all this. As your boss, I order you to go home and rest."

This snapped Pepper from her daze and turned to Tony,

"But Tony! I still have work to do at the company-" Nope!" She was about protest when the man cut her off,

"But-"

"Uh-uh."

The back and forth brought smiles and giggles from the rest of the room. Pepper was about to protest more when Jarvis's voice suddenly appeared.

"Mr. Stark. There appear to be seven unknown entities approaching the mansion."

Suddenly, the room was on full alert at the sudden warning.

"Describe the situation, Jarvis," Tony ordered.

"They appear to be monsters of Greek Mythology. I shall look through my database to accurately identify them."

"It was then Percy spoke up,

"Mr. Stark. Is it possible to get a picture or something? Maybe we can identify it and kill it as fast as possible. They must've sensed our scent. A son of Poseidon and two children of Hades in one place without the protection of the camp must've attracted them." he said calmly while Bianca agreed.

Nico looked a little nervous.

Tony nodded,

"You heard him, Jarvis."

"Just a moment, sir."

Suddenly, the TV turned on and they could see a large pack of monsters rapidly running towards the Stark Mansion. Luckily for the group, they were located in an isolated area so there were no casualties. Although, there was some damage to the surrounding.

"How convenient. Now there is no need to prove the existence of monsters to Miss Potts." Isaiah said with a grin.

"What are they?" Tony asked.

He had already worn his Anti-Mist glasses and was looking at the screen along with Happy.

"They're Hellhounds. And a large pack of it to boot." Percy said with a serious expression.

"Hellhounds? I don't know what that is, but aren't they wolves?" Pepper asked making everyone raise an eyebrow.

"Oh right! Here. I'll make you one that suits you later. " Isaiah said and projected the same glasses Tony wore.

They were a bit too big for her, but she wore them nonetheless. When she looked back to the screen, the wolves suddenly seemed to blur before transforming into giant demonic-looking canines aggressively running towards the mansion.

"Oh god. What the hell are those!?" she couldn't help but curse.

"They're Hellhounds. They are the children of Nyx and Cerberus and are supposed to be the guard dogs of my father. They must be wild ones that were born on Earth or something. Otherwise, they would have been in the underworld." Bianca said calmly.

"Shouldn't we do something!?" Pepper asked urgently, "Can they be killed with guns?"

"No, they can't. Bullets won't hurt them. Although, you shouldn't worry Miss Potts. Right, now you are in the safest place you could be." the Ancient One replied.

"How!?"

"Just watch."

Soon the pack of monsters finally arrived in front of the gate. They were about to jump over it when,

*BANG*

they slammed into something invisible creating sparks of orange and gold in consequence.

"What?"

Fiona smiled,

"That's why I told you you are safe in here," she said.

Pepper looked at the screen where she could see the Hell hounds ram into the invisible walls multiple times.

"What's going on?"

"What's going on Pepper is that my son's ability is at work."

Pepper looked at the boy,

"Isaiah?"

"That's right, Miss Potts. Around the mansion, I created a barrier using enchantments. It can withstand Stark Industries' strongest missile up to five times. Mere hellhounds can't do anything about it."

Pepper was speechless when she heard the boy. Percy then stood up and stretched himself.

"Welp, I better get rid of them since it's kind of our fault. Although, it's going to be difficult with just me."

"I'll help. I trained a lot ever since we returned from that quest."

"I'll help too!" Nico said

"No, Nico. You're not ready yet." Bianca quickly shot him down.

"But-"

"No, Nico. You still need to get a hold of your powers and you still need to train."

"But, I can help!"

Bianca looked at the boy before sighing,

"Fine. Summon some skeletons then, but you stay here."

Nico happily nodded.

"I'll go too," Isaiah said before Percy stopped him,

"No can do, birthday boy. You just relax. We'll take care of it." Percy said with a confident grin.

"Bu-"

"Isaiah." Fiona called and the boy looked at her, "Let them do it. Demigods train for moments like this and, in the last resort, I am here to help."

"Wait! You're sending children to fight these monsters! Have you lost your minds!?" Pepper exclaimed.

It was then Sally spoke,

"We have not Miss. Potts. You just haven't seen their capabilities." Percy's mother calmly said.

"Aren't you that boy's mother?"

"It's because I'm his mother, I can say this. Besides my son is not that weak. He has the blood of one of the strongest Olympian gods flowing in him. In fact, this place gives him a huge advantage." she replied with not a hint of nervousness.

Pepper could only look at the woman with a speechless expression.

Percy then took out a pen from his pocket. Pepper was about to ask why he brought out a pen when the boy took off its cap. To her shock, once more, the pen transformed into a sword.

"We'll be back!" the older boy said and the two demigods left the mansion.

Nico then concentrated. Suddenly, they heard a rumbling sound and Pepper saw the ground rip open and a bony hand emerging from it.

"Wait! My lawn!" shouted Tony in terror when he realized how Nico was summoning the skeletons.

"It's okay, Mr. Stark. Everything will be repaired as if nothing happened." Fiona said.

"Really?"

"Yes."

He sighed in relief,

"Oh thank god."

Pepper internally shouted,

'Monsters are attacking your house and you're worried about your lawn!'

Ten skeletons emerged from the ground and began attacking the hellhounds outside of the barrier Virginia then saw Percy and Bianca enter the screen. Percy jumped over the gate and quickly started attacking the closest monster. Seeing that it was distracted by a skeleton, Percy ambushed it from behind and slashed its back. With a pained howl, the first monster was killed and turned into gold dust. There were now six more left,

Bianca, on the other hand, had formed shadow daggers in both hands and was fighting against another hellhound. The latter pounced on her and she had the duck and roll to dodge it. She threw her dagger toward the hellhound which sunk into its flesh. It roared out in pain, but, unfortunately, it wasn't enough to kill it. However, it was the opportunity Bianca was waiting for. She dashed towards it and jumped on its back. Startled by the sudden weight on its back, the hellhound tried to throw the girl off. However, the girl latched on to its fur with an arm and her legs. She formed another shadow dagger and slashed its neck. It wailed before suddenly bursting into dust.

Percy who was confronting another monster saw the girl kill the monster.

"Good job, Bianca!" he shouted with a grin when he jumped back to avoid the claws of the monster.

"You too!"

Soon, three skeletons burst out of the ground and joined the fight when Nico saw his skeletons getting destroyed.

"Thanks, Nico!" Percy shouted although the boy was still in the mansion.

Although the hellhounds were strong, they were no match against the three children of the Big Three. One by one, the monsters were decimated. They all panted when the battle was over.

The ordinary humans on the site were speechless. Even if Happy and Tony were told of their capabilities, they had their eyes glued to the screen. It was like a fantasy novel had come straight to life.

"I really need to develop something to counter that in case of emergencies. Although possible, it would be inefficient to simply chuck missiles at them." Tony said with a surprisingly calm tone.

"How are you not freaking out now!?" Pepper asked,

"I had months to get used to it. Although, this is my first time seeing these monsters and demigods fight." Tony turned to Nico who was still catching his breath,

"Thanks, kid. It would have been a lot harder for them without your help!"

"No *pant* problem *pant Mr. Stark."

Sally had gone to the kitchen and arrived with a glass of water,

"Here. This will help."

Nico gulped down the water,

"Thank you, Ms. Jackson!"

Soon they saw Percy and Bianca enter the house.

"We're back!" he said and Bianca nodded.

"Thanks for getting rid of the monsters, kids," Tony said when he saw them.

"You're welcome, Mr. Stark."

"Did you get injured, Percy and Bianca?" asked Sally.

"Nope!" Bianca replied.

Isaiah then spoke,

"You've improved a lot, Bianca! You easily destroyed all the hellhounds."

Bianca, caught off guard by the boy's praise, could only answer,

"T-thanks. Your barrier did pretty much most of the job," she said as she felt her face slightly heat up.

The other children didn't notice it, but the adults notice her change in demeanour and smirked knowingly.

"Well, I better erase any traces of battle before anyone notices it," the Sorcerer Supreme said.

"Right. How are you going to do that?" Tony asked.

"Observe, Me. Stark. Afterwards, you will need to remove any evidence of what happened today since your residence is quite the popular one and could attract the wrong eyes."

"No worries. I always make sure that there is no surveillance pointing in my direction." Tony reassured.

"Good. Then let me begin."

They all watched as the woman made hand signs in front of the amulet she was wearing. Suddenly, the amulet moved as its "eye" opened revealing a green glow. Her hand was also covered in green intricate magic circles. She raised her hand towards where the entrance of the mansion and turned her right hand counter-clockwise. Soon, as if time was reversed, all the damages that occurred due to the fight and the rampage of the monsters were reversed.

Everyone watched in awe as a literal miracle happened right before their eyes. Even Isaiah was fascinated. It's not every day, you see someone manipulate a fundamental law of the universe even if it was such a small scale.

"What was that?" Percy asked.

"I simply rewound the time of the battlefield."

"Time... Like the King of Titans?" Percy asked seriously.

Fiona turned to the boy,

"That's quite the complicated question you're asking Perseus. But let me alleviate your worries. This amulet was created before even the birth of the Titan King and it is impossible for him to acquire it due to various circumstances."

This comforted the teen a little.

"So this is the life you people have been living?" Pepper suddenly asked.

Isaiah nodded,

"Yeah, this is our life. Although the monsters don't come after humans like us, it doesn't mean that we, sorcerers don't have our fair share of problems."

"Like?"

"Like demons trying to overtake earth using another dimension such as Hell?"

Tony raised an eyebrow,

"When did that happen?"

"I'll tell you later."

"I see." Pepper softly said.

Sally looked at the time,

"Looks like it's time for us to return home, now. Paul will get worried and I think we had enough excitement for the day," she said when she saw it was time to go.

"Really?" Percy asked.

Sally nodded,

"Yes, look at the time, it's almost evening."

"Oh."

Bianca nodded,

"I guess we have to go too. I promised Chiron that we would arrive before supper."

"Aww, really?" Nico whined.

"Yes. Nico."

Tony nodded,

"Alright then. It was a pleasure meeting you all and I'm happy could all come to Isaiah's birthday."

The boy nodded,

"Thank you everyone for organizing this for me. And I really appreciate all your presents."

"Don't worry, man. What are friends for?" Percy replied.

Isaiah smiled.

"Very well. let me give open a portal for you." The Ancient One said to the Jacksons and the di Angelo.

Soon, two portals opened up. One led to an alley where no camera was pointing and another led to the entrance of Camp Half-blood.

"Alright, man. I'll see you next time." Percy said as he gave the boy a brief hug.

"You too, Percy."

Sally came forth and also hugged the child.

"Goodbye, Isaiah. You're always welcome to visit our place. I'll also have freshly baked cookies just for you."

"Goodbye Sally. And I'll definitely visit. Your cookies are heavenly."

The woman chuckled,

"I'm glad you love them," she replied.

The Jacksons stepped through the portal,

"Bye, everyone!" Percy said.

"Bye!"

Soon their portal closed.

Isaiah turned to the di Angelos.

"Thank you for coming, Bianca and Nico"

"It's your birthday! Of course, we would come!" Bianca said

"That's right! Now that I gave you a deck, we should get together to play Mythomagic!" the boy said.

Isaiah chuckled,

"Sure. I'll also beat you this time!"

"No way, I improved myself and I'll have my vengeance!" the younger boy exclaimed.

Bianca turned to Tony,

"Thank you, Mr. Stark, for inviting us."

"No problem, kid. You're Isaiah's first friend. That's more than enough."

She then turned back to Isaiah and was about to say her farewell when the latter hugged.

If anyone asks, she would deny squeaking when the boy hugged her. She would deny blushing furiously. She would also deny stuttering.

"Thanks for the present, Bianca," the boy said as he continued to hug.

The girl gingerly hugged back. Tony had to suppress himself from giggling like an idiot seeing the effect his son had on the girl.

"Y-you're welcome, Isaiah."

"Now that your school is over. We should hang out sometimes."

"S-sure."

"Great!" the boy said and released her.

The girl quickly walked through the portal along with Nico.

"Bye, everyone!"

"Bye!"

And the Ancient One closed the second portal.

"Well, I believe it's my turn to leave. I can't leave Kamar-Taj alone any longer. Although, it was a pleasant experience, Mr. Stark. Thank you." she said to the billionaire,

"No problem."

The woman turned to the child,

"Once again, Happy birthday, Isaiah. Even though I am unable to see your future. I can safely say that you will accomplish many things. Never stop improving."

"Thank you, Teacher."

"Although, you should also enjoy your life, Isaiah. You are still twelve years old. I heard that you were going to attend high school, is that right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Although I have never been to one myself, I heard that it's an experience one should not miss."

She opened a portal and walked through,

"Farewell, Isaiah, Mr. Hogan, Mr. Stark and Miss Potts"

They all bid farewell and the portal closed.

"I never got to ask, but why does she call herself the Ancient One?" Tony asked.

Isaiah smiled,

"That's because she's that old."

"She doesn't look a day over 40 to me."

"She would be happy to hear what you said since it was rumoured that she was over seven hundred years old."

*PFFFFFFFT*

Happy, who was drinking water, immediately spat it all out. It would have been the same for Virginia and Tony if they were also drinking something.

"WHAT!?" Happy and Tony exclaimed while Pepper remained quiet, quite stunned by the news.

"Yup, it's true."

"I should ask for her skincare routine. It must be amazing. "Pepper said.

"Skincare? I don't know about that, but she gained immortality using an unknown ritual."

"It was a joke, Isaiah," Pepper said seeing the boy misunderstanding her.

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay." the woman said.

She didn't know what to make of the child. She was the child of another woman who had slept with Tony. Seeing how the man talked about the woman, she could tell the man loved her a lot.

'But why do I feel like this?' she thought.

She felt her heart squeeze a little when Tony described Sarah Sharpe. It was such an ugly feeling that Pepper didn't what to do.

"Here. I think this would suit you better." Isaiah said.

Pepper looked at the child who had his palm open. Suddenly a glasses frame. It had large rims for large lenses, but its branches are quite thin. It was a glasses frame for women that Pepper had seen in stores. She then saw the boy materialize a needle. Circuits appeared on his hand before the needle began glowing blue. It was then overlapped with orange and gold arcane energy. The boy then began to write on the thin branches of the glasses. Pepper realized he was carving on the branches of the frame when she squinted a little.

After a minute, the boy finished his work and presented it to the woman. She could see it glow blue along with orange and glow before fading away. If she seriously squinted, she could see symbols on the branches,

"I made another Anti-Mist glasses for you since Tony's didn't quite fit you."

"T-Thank you."

But it was all in the past, Pepper would get to know the child of her boss and the world he lived in by putting her feelings aside since there were now going to see each other almost every day from now on.