[Edited April 18, 2023]

Nico had a distinct feeling that his life was about to get very complicated. Percy's disappearance had to mean something. There was no way any mortal could have taken him, was there? It had to be something mythological. It had to mean something. That's what the fates like to do. They like to mess with the Son of Hades' brain. He did not appreciate it as it made things a whole lot harder for Nico.

For one, he would have to move Hazel a whole lot sooner than he thought he would. If this was the start of something big, he needed to get her to safety while he still had the chance. Though he still had some questions and reservations, it was clear that he couldn't waste any more time. He needed answers to the questions that he still had about the Romans, the Roman camp, and the protocols that he would have to follow and he needed them soon.

The night before, Bruce had kept him up late to retell the story about his trip to the Underworld and about the godly foods. When he finally did go to bed, he fell asleep fairly easily and woke up really early this morning so that he could move Hazel quickly. Nico shadow traveled to toxic acres and quickly made his way to Ivy's place. He had to hurry before the Wayne's noticed that he was missing. He didn't like sneaking out, but he couldn't exactly explain Hazel to them yet. They wouldn't understand and it would put the daughter of Pluto in danger-- well more danger than she already was.

The lights were already on when he arrived. Who knew that Ivy was such an early riser? The son of Hades knocked on her surprisingly solid door and waited impatiently for Ivy to open it. When she did, she was wearing a really short pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Her hair was in curlers and she was holding a cup of coffee. She was barely awake, which would be dangerous for the person who bothered her, usually. The children of death were the exceptions, apparently.

Ivy didn't say anything-- probably too tired anyway, and just let him in. Nico moved down the hall to Hazel's room and knocked on her door. There was a noise from inside followed by a 'just a moment!'. A couple of minutes later Hazel opened the door. She wore jeans that were baggier than most kids wore nowadays and a ratty Metallica t-shirt that was probably Ivy's. It looked good on her, the light grey material contrasted nicely with her skin.

"Nico? What's up?" Hazel yawned and stretched, moving past him and into the hall. Nico followed her back into the kitchen. Once she had grabbed a decent breakfast and was sitting at the table eating, Nico explained the situation. Nico told her about his friend's disappearance and how he needed to move her now while he still could. He figured he'd be pretty busy soon.

"So hold up, you want to take her to California? Just how are you planning on doing that?" Ivy cut in, reminding the two that she was still there.

"I have my ways," Nico said cautiously. Just because he liked Ivy doesn't mean that it was smart to let her in on everything. She was still a supervillain after all. If he couldn't tell Bruce, then he certainly couldn't tell Ivy.

"Now that, I believe." Ivy agreed, finishing off her coffee. Luckily she didn't press the issue.

"Where am I supposed to go once I get there?" Hazel asked, taking a bite of her cereal.

"I'm not sure but I know some people we could ask. One of them won't be too happy about it but they might help." Hazel nodded, though she didn't seem all that reassured.

"Alright, let me get my things. Thank you, Ivy! You've been such a great host." Hazel hugged the plant woman and left for her room. Once she left, Ivy glared and pointed at him with one of her manicured nails,

"You keep her safe, you hear? She's family now too." She threatened, somehow scarier when she was tired. Nico nodded solemnly. A short while later, Hazel came out with a small pack. It was old and probably Ivy's. The pair left toxic acres and hid in an alleyway nearby. It was there that Nico used a broken bottle to create a rainbow while Hazel stood guard at the end of the alley. He had no idea where to take her so he had to call for help. Unfortunately, this help would come from his father.

"Father." Nico greeted him respectfully. Hades looked up from his newspaper that he swore had moving pictures.

"What do you want?" Hades said in an almost bored tone.

"I wanted to know where I needed to take her. I know that it's in California, but I have no idea what else I have to do first." Nico admitted.

"First get her a letter of recommendation. Diana Prince should be able to do that. Then take her to a place called the Wolf House in Sonoma. You must not land anywhere close, drop Hazel off a mile or so away. She should be able to make it there on her own. Once she passes the trials, she will make her way to the camp she will know the way. You will use the cover of being an ambassador of Pluto. Talk with the praetors and convince them to accept her." He ordered. Nico thanked him before cutting the connection.

He called Hazel back from the edge of the alley, "did you talk to your friend?" She asked curiously. He nodded and relayed his father's message.

"Are you sure you're ok with this? It's a pretty long jump. Plus, you're bringing a passenger this time." He nodded.

"Yeah, I've got some ambrosia and nectar just in case." Nico took Hazel's hand and repeated 'near the wolf house' over and over in his head until I felt himself dissolving into shadow. They reformed in a forested area and he felt dizzy and almost fell down. Hazel helped him sit down gently and he ate a bit of the ambrosia. Nico drank a sip of nectar, savoring the taste.

"Are we here?" Hazel asked in a small voice, "something feels funny."

"I think so." He responded, "What feels funny?"

"I don't know, something makes me want to go that way. Hazel pointed in a random direction. Nico couldn't see anything that told him that that was the correct direction. He didn't feel any particular tug in his own stomach. Was it like a beacon for Romans? Was this a trap?

"Are you sure? Do you think that's where the trials await?" Hazel nodded, her gold eyes focused on something he couldn't see. It was strange, this sudden confidence. Nico was sure it had something to do with magic but he didn't know any more than that. It was always magic.

If it weren't for the fact that he didn't feel the attraction myself, he would have expected monster activity. Sirens and many other monsters lured people to their deaths using such feelings, scents, or sounds. Percy had told the son of Hades the story of how Medusa had put him and Grover in a trance with the smell of food and how cyclops could mimic voices. Nico wanted to point this out to Hazel, but she spoke before he could.

"Yes. I must go on alone." Hazel said, sounding sure of herself. He didn't like the idea of leaving her here without knowing she was safe and he was about to protest but something stopped him. Instead, Nico agreed.

"Ok, be careful. When you get done with the trials, pray to father and he should tell me to go get you. I'll bring your letters of recommendation as I come." Nico explained. Hazel nodded that she understood, her eyes watched him carefully. They were, metallic and shining-- so unlike his own back orbs. How was it possible that they were related?

"I'll be careful, I promise. I'll see you soon?" She asked, grabbing her pack. He nodded in affirmation, "take care of yourself ok? I hope you find your missing friend." Without waiting for a reply, Hazel trudged off through the woods and towards the wolf house. Nico watched her go until she got too far away to see before he shadow traveled back to his room. When he got there, he found Bruce waiting for him.

"Ah, Nico. So good of you to finally join us. Care to explain where you were?" Bruce crossed his arms over his chest and locked his steely blue eyes on the demigod.

"I can't, I was carrying out orders from my father," Nico said, not really lying.

"Look, Nico, you can't keep going out like this. I need to know where you're going and why." Bruce rubbed his hands down his face.

"Fine. I went to California to guide a lost soul." He explained.

"California?" Bruce looked uncomfortable. Nico doubted that it would help if he mentioned that it was a monster hotspot because of the eucalyptus trees. He probably wouldn't like that much. Nico should have thought the older man would have been more curious about the lost soul part but maybe he just wasn't interested in the afterlife. For a man who was so surrounded by death, Nico guessed that it made sense.

"Yeah, why?"

"That's the other side of the country. What would you have done if you had gotten in trouble?"

"Fought it off if it was a monster, plus I could have gotten to an Underworld entrance. There's one in Hollywood." Nico said matter-of-factly. Bruce sighed but apparently decided that this argument wasn't worth fighting because he ended it abruptly.

"Alright, just tell me where you're going from now on, ok?" Bruce sounded defeated. Nico nodded in reluctant acceptance. Bruce left the room, gently shutting the door behind him. 

Nico rubbed his hand down his face and took a deep breath before heading off to shower. He took a long time in the shower imagining what trials Hazel might have to go through. To be honest, he was worried for her. Nico knew she could curse greedy people but that might not help. He wished he knew what the trials were and he wished even more that he could help her.

When Nico finally got out of the shower, it was sometime around noon. He headed downstairs to eat lunch with the others. When he got downstairs he was relieved to see that he wasn't the last one to arrive. Jason and Damian were still missing. 

Nico took his seat next to Dick to wait for them to arrive. Alfred and Bruce usually insisted that they wait until everyone was present before they ate but that didn't always happen with these boys. Especially not if your name was Timothy Drake. That boy practically lived off of coffee and adrenaline.

As they waited, Dick started asking him questions about the gods. Nico was pleased by his curiosity and described each of the Olympian gods and their domains as best he could. Of course, he often got off-topic, due to his short attention span and the enormity of the topic. There were just so many different ways to take the conversation and so many rabbit holes to explore. It was hard to keep everything straight in his mind.

Nico told Dick about the big three and their children, about the infamous Stoll brothers and their father, and Athena and her children. He seemed especially interested when Nico told him about how young some of the kids at camp were. He described the Aphrodite kids and Silena, the Hephestus kids, the Apollo kids, and their parents. He had gotten halfway through them all before he realized that the two missing members of the family had shown up and everybody was listening intently to him.

"Apollo went through a bad haiku phase..." Nico trailed off. He felt his face heat up from all the attention on him.

"Go on Nico, we're all very interested." Bruce encouraged.

"Err ok?" He said-- unsure, "Well Apollo writes the worst haikus ever. Though his talent with medicine and instruments is unmatched by any mortal of god. Aphrodite appears as whoever you find most attractive and adjusts constantly. No one really knows what she looks like normally. Ares has quite a temper. Percy challenged him to a duel when he was twelve and won." Nico looked back fondly at that for a moment before a soft cough brought his attention back to the others again.

"Oh, sorry, where was I?" He asked.

"Just finished describing Ares." Damian supplied. He nodded in thanks.

"Ah, yes. Next, Demeter. Crazy cereal-obsessed goddess who hates my father and thinks everyone should be a farmer." Nico scowled, "Persephone hates me too after I dug up part of her garden. That was also the time I was almost burned to death. My father almost liquified me. Later on, Persephone turned me into a dandelion, which is why Pamela liked me so much. Thinks I'm a freaking plant." He muttered.

"Hades was going to liquefy you?" Bruce sounded appalled. He nodded, unconcerned.

"More like threatened to liquify me. He hit a plant instead. I basically dared him to do it," he admitted. Bruce looked really upset now but he didn't comment.

"What about Diana? She's an Amazonian, not a goddess." Dick pointed out.

"That's complicated." Nico grimaced. He was nowhere near the best person to be explaining this to them. Chiron or Annabeth would have done a much better job but he did his best.

"Then just try to explain it as best you can." Bruce pressed.

"Well, of the gods and goddesses can divide their consciousness up into parts. They can be in multiple places at once. Diana Prince is an aspect of Artemis-- though not remotely similar in personality. I don't know how it works, that's just how I understand it." He explained. He felt like his answer was inadequate and he wished again that he could have given him a better answer than that but magic had never been his strong suit. Nico may know a lot about the powers of the gods and their domains, but he knew very little about the confines of Greek magic. It would be like asking Annabeth to win in a spelling bee.

"You're right, that's complicated." Bruce chuckled appreciatively. The resident demigod nodded in agreement. Alfred came in with sandwiches and the topic of discussion turned to more pressing matters, school.

(I know that school would have already started but I really don't care. Making it completely realistic takes away some of the fun of writing fanfiction. Your leniency on the matter would be appreciated, thanks!)

The school was going to start in early November and Nico had no idea how that was going to go. He hadn't exactly had a steady education before and was probably way behind normal students his age. Bruce said he would arrange for a tutor and was going to see what accommodations could be made for his dyslexia and ADHD. Nico, however, would rather just not go to school altogether. 

Formal schooling was a waste of time. You spend all your time in a big brick building with other students only to get information (that you may or may not ever use again) shoved down your throat. Then you have to regurgitate it onto an exam and then forget most of it right afterward. Nico had never done well at school. He learned through doing things and schools severely lacked curriculums that catered to that style of learning. That's why he had done so well in the classes he would attend at camp. He got to learn through experience.

Maybe there was some way to prove to Bruce that this wasn't going to be quite as easy as he thought it would be. First of all, Nico was so out of date on so many subjects that he would essentially have to start over. Plus there was the mythological side of things to consider. It wasn't really an issue if a monster showed up at the manor around the Waynes since they knew his secret. It would be a totally different matter if he had to do it in front of a tutor. Plus Nico needed a really flexible schedule and tutoring didn't sound like it would allow for that.

After lunch, Nico went out back to his favorite spot in the grove, planning on IMing Annabeth to see how she was doing. He took the prism with him, finding it to be a much more efficient way to make a rainbow than using mist. The son of Hades settled beneath the weeping willow and set the prism in such a way that he could form the rainbow. 

Nico tossed one of his drachmas from his dwindling pile into the light and called upon Iris to show him Annabeth at camp. When the image appeared, he was behind Annabeth looking at what seemed to be a counselor's meeting. Even Thalia was present. It was Chiron that noticed him first.

"Ah, Nico! I've been expecting to hear from you." Everyone turned to see him and he was met with looks with varying degrees of surprise, distrust, and indifference.

"Chiron." Nico greeted respectfully. Annabeth stood in front of him, her eyes intense and expectant. She was obviously about to interrogate the biologically younger boy but Chiron called out to her before she could,

"Hold on, child. Sit down and he can tell you what he knows." Chiron said gently. Annabeth reluctantly sat down but her intense gaze stayed on him-- as did most people's.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that I don't know much. The good thing is that Percy isn't dead. The bad news is I haven't been able to locate him either. I have a couple of contacts I can talk to but their assistance would be limited." He reported, thinking about the Wayne family. Annabeth sighed in a mixture of relief and dismay.

"I'm sorry Annabeth, I'll do what I can," He promised.

"I know. Thanks, Nico. We have Grover conferring with all the nature spirits, the Hunt is out searching, Sally called his disappearance into the mortal police, and we still have nothing." Annabeth sounded tense.

"Give it time, child." Chiron soothed. Everyone could tell that 'giving it time' wasn't something Annabeth was willing to do.

"Who are your contacts, Nico?" Annabeth asked curiously. He winced and decided it was best to lie and shut down further talk.

"Let's just say that they are trustworthy. They were pretty clear that they were to remain unknown. I'd rather not die so I'm not going to tell you who they are." He said stretching the truth. The Bat fam is trustworthy and they are very private. The only thing he lied about was being in danger. He didn't think that Bruce would ever hurt him, but he also wasn't willing to put himself in a position where he would find out.

"The mighty Ghost King is scared of these people?" Clarisse taunted.

"Oh yes, very much so," Nico said unashamedly. Clarisse was stunned to silence. He smirked internally like that. Unlike her, his self-esteem wasn't wrapped in a big ego. People didn't like him so it didn't matter to them what he did. It was both a blessing and a curse.

"Alright, I was just curious. If you think we can trust them... well I trust you." Annabeth reasoned. Nico was touched that she said that. Not many people trusted a child of Hades. He dipped his head in gratitude.

"That is all I have to report. I'll IM you or Chiron if I learn anything else." He abruptly cut off the message. With so many people out searching, we should definitely be able to find him. Right? Now he had to IM Diana. Nico didn't want to IM her while she was in the middle of something. He briefly considered having Bruce contact her, but then he would have to tell him why and the son of Hades couldn't very well expose the Romans like that.

He sat there under that tree and deliberated for a long time. Before he could muster up the courage to make that call someone came into the grove and was heading towards the weeping willow. A few seconds later, Damian stuck his head through the leaves.

"Am I interrupting?" Nico shook his head.

"No, I was just thinking."

"Well, if you are done, I was wondering if you are ready to continue with our reading?"  Nico nodded. Damian hummed and left to go back to the manor. He knew that Nico would come in when he was ready.

Nico watched him go. He no longer wanted to talk to Diana today and resigned himself to contacting her as soon as he could the next day. Nico headed inside and found Damian in the library reading a different book. When he saw the demigod, though, he pulled out 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and they picked up where they had left off. Nico felt relaxed by the story and allowed himself to be carried away. He had no idea how long the session lasted but they were called to dinner before they had stopped. He found himself enjoying these sessions with Damian more than he liked to admit.

Dinner that night was steaks which were really good. During his time there he had been taught proper etiquette and felt more comfortable at galas and formal events. Dinner was going really well until we had an unexpected visitor. One that-- unfortunately-- only he could see. A ghost popped up in the middle of the table and scared the un-living daylights out of the Son of Hades. Nico scooted his chair back making an ungodly screeching noise and glared at the ghost.

"Nico? What's wrong?" Bruce asked quizzically.

"There's a ghost in the table," He said angrily. Nico recognized that this wasn't an ordinary ghost. This spelled trouble.

"What?" Jason asked disbelievingly.

"There's a freaking ghost in the table!" He growled, "An eidolon."

"An eidolon? What is that?" Bruce seemed to be inspecting the table looking for the anomaly. He, of course, wouldn't see one.

"They possess people and make them do things, anything. When possessed by one the victim's eyes grow cold looking, sometimes even flash gold. If he possesses me, he can control my powers and my body. That would be bad." Nico said shortly. 

The eidolon in question was eyeing his sword warily. It was surprising to him that it didn't seem to go after the Waynes. Maybe the monster didn't know how much bigger of a threat they were than he was. If it really wanted to cause some damage, it should go after Bruce.

'What do we do if it gets control of you?" Bruce questioned, standing now.

"Strap me down, keep me in bright light, don't sedate me, it will just move on to someone else. Then call Diana. Don't listen to a word I say until she gets here." He warned. 

Minos had taught him a lot about eidolons when he was in the labyrinth. Nico couldn't carry out Minos' plans if he was possessed, after all. It was then that the Eidolon made its move. It was faster than Nico was expecting and he felt his consciousness being pushed aside before he knew what had happened. Nico was only able to manage a short 'no' before the spirit took over. That's embarrassing.

"Ooohhhh a Son of Hades! How exciting." Nico heard himself say. The Waynes were watching the demigod cautiously. Bruce slowly stood up.

"Puny mortals. You won't be alive much longer, yes that will be nice." The eidolon stretched and disengaged his sword and brought out his silver knife instead-- the one that works on mortals. Nico tried desperately to regain control of his body but it was no use. 

Unwillingly, he moved closer to Bruce. The eidolon was only restricted by the skill of its host. Luckily, he only had the knife as a last resort-- he didn't know how to properly wield it. It was a good thing too because just then his body tried to stab Bruce but he was too quick for the eidolon. 

Someone grabbed Nico from behind so he stomped on their foot making them hiss. Luckily, they didn't lose their grip. Unfortunately, the eidolon nailed them with an elbow to the ribs and they let go. The Eidolon lost precious seconds having to compensate and regain his balance. Even still, the spirit was not deterred from this fight.

It was like Nico was hyped up on adrenaline. The eidolon didn't have any signals going to its brain that forced it to stick to the limitations of the body. He could access hysterical strength on a whim and leave Nico's body wrecked. It also wasn't getting any pain signals either. Nico could get stabbed and the eidolon wouldn't care until the host died. It was a desperate situation.

The eidolon managed to get in a couple of good cuts here and there but the bat family was able to pin him down and disarm him fairly easily. This was both good and sort of pathetic. He tried to tell himself that it was because he wasn't as used to hand-to-hand combat, but he couldn't even convince himself. 

Jason knelt in front of the downed boy and punched Nico in the face. Almost immediately he could feel a bruise forming across his right cheekbone. He didn't mind, it wasn't anything a little ambrosia couldn't fix.

"Ah ah ah! Whatever you do to me host only hurts him. I can't feel a thing!" The eidolon taunted. The lucky part is that it wasn't Nico's own voice that came out of his mouth. It was clear that there was another entity at work here. Jason looked really angry now. He grabbed Nico's jacket collar and pulled the younger's face closer to his own.

"You leave him alone!" The eidolon chuckled, and the demigod's face contorted into an ugly snarl.

"You just try and make me!" It challenged. They gladly accepted the challenge. Bruce grabbed the demigod's upper body and Dick got his feet. The eidolon struggled its hardest and they dropped him several times. 

Nico could tell that they were taking him into the Bat Cave, which Nico wasn't sure was the best idea. Even if someone dispatched the eidolon somehow, it would still know that Bruce Wayne was Batman and the location of the Bat Cave. The son of Hades could only hope that the spirit would decide that it wasn't concerned with the affairs of mortals and not spread the word. That was truly the last thing any of them needed at the moment.

On the way down into the cave, the eidolon broke out of the vigilante's grips and the spirit tried to roll Nico off the edge of the catwalk to his gruesome death. Bruce and Jason stopped him in time, but Nico was internally screaming. The stalagmites would have made that a very painful way to go.

Tim and Damian had gone on ahead to call up Diana so hopefully, she could get here soon and get this thing out of his head. Nico wasn't sure exactly what she could do about it but it was worth a shot. Maybe she would know some way to get this parasite out of his body that he didn't. She had been around for several thousand years, after all. She must have come across all sorts of situations involving monsters.

He didn't have any good options, after all. He hated feeling like a prisoner in his own head-- he felt helpless and weak. He hadn't felt this useless since Hades had flashed him to his room and taken Percy prisoner. It was a feeling he never wanted to revisit.

The three oldest bats wrestled him onto the table. Jason and Bruce pinned him while Dick hurried to strap him down. Bruce flicked on the really bright light and both the eidolon and the demigod hissed in discomfort. The eidolon thrashed around, straining against the restraints, hurting Nico's joints. Why he didn't just go to a new body was beyond him but Nico was thankful for it nonetheless. His wrists were rubbed raw and bleeding and his eyes burned from staring into the light. He wished that the eidolon would look somewhere else so Nico could see, but he refused.

"You're hurting the host." The eidolon ployed, calming only momentarily. Bruce looked conflicted, "I could make him cause himself a lot of pain if you don't let him go. Plus, the light hurts our eyes." The eidolon said the last part with clear disdain. Bruce seemed to consider it and Nico was desperately hoping that he wasn't going to let him go. He could deal with some sore joints, bruises, and raw patches. It wasn't going to be the end of the world. But if the eidolon used his powers to get to Camp Half-Blood, then it could cause some serious damage.

"Dick? Do we have any blindfolds?" He asked. Nico felt relief wash over him-- his eyes were actually burning. A few minutes later a blindfold was slipped over his eyes. This clearly maddened the eidolon because it started spitting curses in Greek and fighting even harder against the bonds tying him down. Nico actually felt his eyes starting to water from the stinging and burning in his wrists. Nico didn't even have the mental capacity to feel embarrassed.

"Is he.. crying?" Jason sounded confused.

"I warned you! I will hurt the host!" The eidolon sounded cold and sadistic now.

"Get the straps. I'll turn on the magic dampeners. Maybe that will help somehow." Bruce ordered. Nico felt the straps tighten painfully around everything and a new strap was added across his forehead. It hurt, but not as much as when the eidolon was fighting the straps. The spirit still strained but it couldn't get enough leverage to hurt him too badly, so it settled itself with making his wrists raw and bloody. 

The eidolon yelled profanities in every language it knew until his throat was raw and painful. At some point, they shoved a gag in Nico's mouth and shut the monster up. After that, they must have left the cave because Nico couldn't hear them anymore. With no one there, the eidolon allowed the body to relax some, settling itself with causing its host pain.

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed with his wrist aching as they did. The eidolon didn't feel muscle fatigue so it hadn't paused once in its pursuit to make his life hell. When you are in constant pain, time is irrelevant. Sometime later he heard people come back down and he could feel his heart rate start to rise. Though he knew he could trust them, Nico couldn't help but feel trapped. With the way he was tied up, he truly felt like he was an experiment and he started to panic internally.

Nico heard voices getting closer-- several voices. The only voices he recognized were Diana and Bruce. The rest were foreign and that did not bode well for him-- his panic started to rise. Who were these people? Why would Bruce bring these people here? There was too much going on. too many things that were out of Nico's control. he didn't even have control over his own body. There was no way he could fight or defend himself in this condition. He was completely at the mercy of these people and he hated it.

Nico heard a man's voice comment, "His heart rate is dangerously high."

Another chimed in, "He is frightened by us. " His voice sounded smooth and calming and it may have been comforting at another time. Right now, it was just another potential threat.

"Come on, we need to calm him down," Diana said reasonably. He heard her footsteps come closer.

"Hello? Nico, don't be afraid. It is just the Justice League. I would take the blindfold off but with that foul spirit in there, we can't risk you staring straight at the light. I see it's already made a mess out of your wrists." He could feel her fingers ghost over his right wrist and he hissed internally.

"What is doing this to him?" Another new voice asked.

"They are called eidolons. They possess... basically anything humanoid. You can hurt the host without hurting the eidolon at all," Diana explained.

"Ah yes, I've heard about them. Nasty creatures. Can we get rid of it without hurting the boy?" Yet another voice asked.

"We should be able to." Someone took hold of the gag and started to pull it out.

"What was the gag for?" Yet another person asked.

"The eidolon wouldn't stop yelling and it was making him lose his voice," Bruce explained.

"Well, let's see if we can get the foul spirit out using the lasso," Diana said, pulling the gag from his mouth. Surprisingly, the eidolon remained silent. Maybe it knew what was about to happen. and maybe it was looking for another host. Nico hoped they would hurry.

"Hmm, not so talkative now are you?" Nico felt something get threaded underneath his right arm and get tightened. Nico was confused but he couldn't ask questions, not that he could. He just had to trust that they were trying to help him. 

"What do you want with Nico?" Diana asked with authority. The eidolon hissed and growled, resisting. The lasso stung a bit but it seemed to be hurting the eidolon more.

"He is a strong host," it replied at last.

" Why are you hurting him?" Diana questioned.

"I was showing the mortals what I can do. They are no match for me. Even this powerful demigod will fall to me," it hissed, pleased with its power.

"You will leave this host and never return. None of your kind will inhabit him again. Swear it on the river Styx!" She ordered. The stinging of the lasso was turning into an intense burning sensation.

"No," it hissed. Diana repeated the request twice more before it complied. By now the burning sensation was becoming unbearable.

"I swear to leave this body. No eidolons shall possess this host. I swear it on the river Styx." Thunder rolled in the distance signifying the completion of the pact. Nico felt the being leave and all he could think to do was to get that lasso off.

"Get it off! It burns! Get it off!" Nico cried hoarsely as soon as he had control of his own mouth. Diana hastily unraveled the rope and he sighed in relief. The blindfold was soon removed. It took him a minute to adjust to the lights. As his eyes were adjusting Bruce removed the restraints and Diana helped him sit up. It was a painful task but it made him feel less vulnerable and that was all that mattered to him at the moment.

The first thing he did was take his jacket off to see why the rope had burned. He was shocked by what he saw. There was an angry red outline on his arm from where the rope had sat. It had burned him through his jacket. Nico touched it and winced-- it was extremely tender. It wasn't the only place either-- his wrists and ankles were in poor shape.

"The lasso burned you?" Diana sounded surprised. Nico looked away from his wounds to see the oddest congregation of people in front of him. There was a green man, a man in a red and yellow bodysuit, one in a blue and red uniform, one wearing a shirt of orange scales, Diana, and Bruce. He looked over each and every one of them in turn. He didn't bother responding to Diana, the answer was obvious.

"It's never burned anybody before." Diana sounded perplexed.

"Great, I broke the laws of magic." he sighed sarcastically. Diana handed him a flask which he took a small sip of. Nectar. He poured some of the godly drink on his arms and watched as the burn turned into light pink color. The golden drink mixed with the blood on his wrists and started to turn a shimmery red-gold. It would have been beautiful if it weren't so painful.

Bruce watched the demigod carefully, "I thought you said Gotham was protected?"

"It is, to some extent," Diana answered for him. Nico nodded.

"Yeah. Monsters can spawn within but they can't enter from the outside," he elaborated. The nectar was already working to repair his throat and his voice didn't sound quite as scratchy as it had moments before. Nico cautiously took another sip of nectar. The green man began to approach him-- he tensed and watched him with suspicion. He seemed to understand the son of Hades' distrust. Something about him made him wary, besides his green skin. Nico had seen blue Hypoboreans before-- green skin was nothing.

"May I address your wounds?" Nico looked at him in confusion and glanced at Bruce for help. He gave the demigod a slight nod. Nico decided to trust him. Surely if Batman says something is ok, it is, right?

"Sure, I guess. Thanks," he said, allowing the stranger to approach. The rest of the heroes spread out in sort of a circle around the table. Nico tried to ignore their existence.

"I am Martian Manhunter, you may call me John Jones or J'onn if you like," He said in his soothing manner. He nodded absently.

"I'm Nico di Angelo. Just call me Nico," he introduced himself. J'onn and Diana worked together to apply nectar and bandage his wrists. Nico still wasn't sure why they were all here.

"We are all here because Batman called Diana during one of our meetings. We all decided to 'tag along' as you say," J'onn explained. He had read my mind. Nico wasn't really all that surprised. The dude was green and a Martian. It stands to reason he has other abilities too.

"What else can you do?" he asked him curiously. The man in blue with the S on his chest seemed surprised by something.

"I can shift my density so I can go through solid objects, shift my form into almost anything, and turn invisible." J'onn seemed pleased to have someone interested in him. Nico could understand the feeling.

"Cool," he said, genuinely meaning it. After his wounds were taken care of he tried to stand but collapsed. He would have hit the floor if the dude in the red bodysuit hadn't caught him. He set Nico back on the table gently where the younger boy clutched his knees. His joints ached.

"Owww," He muttered under his breath. He thanked the guy in the red suit and did a quick soul search. Barry Allen.

"No problem I'm Flash." He smiled a blinding white smile. Diana gave him some more nectar and ambrosia.

"Yeah, AKA Barry Allen," He said, unimpressed. Now everybody except Bruce and Diana was surprised.

"How did you know that? Did Batman tell you?" He looked a little annoyed. Nico shook his head,

"I was able to find out his identity too," he assured the speedster.

"Seriously? He had to tell me!" Barry seemed very put out. He looked at Bruce for confirmation and he simply nodded.

"Do you know who I am?" The man with the S asked. Nico attempted soul searched him.

"Clark Kent." His soul felt different for some reason, but Nico couldn't put his finger on it.

The last man finally approached, "Arthur Curry." Nico said before he could ask. He nodded in confirmation.

"Right. I'm not human though, I'm Atlantean." Nico raised his eyebrows at that.

"Cool. Sorry if I seem like I don't like you. It's just..." he trailed off, not sure how to say that the god of the seas tries to kill him when he goes on boats.

"Believe me, I understand," Arthur assured him. He must have an idea of who he is then. Did Diana tell them? Did he guess? Did it really matter?

Then a thought occurred to him, "Did you know that Percy Jackson disappeared?" Nico asked curiously.

"Poseidon's boy?" Arthur sounded surprised.

"Yeah. He vanished 2 days ago. No one knows where he went," the demigod explained.

"I'll have my people keep an eye out for him," Arthur promised. Nico thanked him. There is nowhere that the campers aren't searching. They should find him within the week.

"Posideon? I didn't think he existed." A man wearing all green questioned. He had a bow slung across his back.

"Oliver Queen. A pleasure to meet you again." He nodded in greeting.

"Yeah, you always seem to be gettin' into trouble, don't you?" He started, "Anyway, what is this I hear about Poseidon?" He wasn't as surprised that Nico had guessed his identity. If he could get Batman, he could get anyone.

"Posideon runs the whole sea. Think Oceanmaster but immortal. Sometimes Atlanteans and Merfolk do his bidding, but mostly we simply coexist and he leaves us to our own devices." Arthur explained.

"Huh, typical," the son of Hades muttered under his breath. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Careful Nico, the council is still not too happy with you," Diana warned. He couldn't help but roll his eyes, though he did shut his big mouth. He had just survived a possession, he wasn't so eager to face death twice in the same night.

[Currently in a Marvel mood. A lot of people are sleeping on Ant-Man tbh].