[Edited August 1, 2022]

June 26th

[This chapter covers some of what the Batfam are doing while Nico is in the pit/jar]

It had been four days since Nico had disappeared and Bruce had yet to rest. He had exhausted his own search through all the channels he had at the League's disposal. According to satellites, GPS, facial recognition, and his many contacts, Nico had disappeared off the face of the Earth. 

Commissioner Gordon had even gone so far as to contact Delphi Strawberries to get a statement from a man named Mr. Bruner about where he thought Nico might have gone and come back with nothing. It had been a long shot in the first place since Nico had said that Delphi Strawberries was just the front for Camp Half-Blood. He had hoped that he could get in contact with this Chiron character and get a better idea of where Nico could be found, but he had no such luck. Bruce was running out of options. 

Dick and Tim were both out on patrol with the team, chasing down any leads they could think of, but Bruce had little hope anything would come from that. Nico hadn't really made his debut as Ghost yet so there wasn't much on the streets about him. While Nico had more-or-less become a household name, no one cared enough to keep tabs on him outside of what was said in Gotham News. 

Bruce knew why his searches were coming up in vain. He knew deep down inside that Nico was far beyond his reach, but he'd done the impossible before. There was no reason to think that he couldn't do something to help now. He'd been to space, to different planets, to different dimensions. There was nothing that was going to keep him from pursuing leads when there was even the possibility of reaching the demigod he had taken into his care. 

There was a beep that came from the Bat Computer that indicated that the secret entrance in the study had been accessed and the motion sensor had been activated. Moments later Nightwing and Red Robin came down the catwalk to where Bruce was sat staring unblinkingly at CCTV footage in Italy. 

"Anything to report?" He asked without looking away from the screen. He asked more as a formality rather than for the answer. 

"We still don't know anything about his whereabouts, but there is something else you should know," Dick started, taking off his mask, "Poison Ivy knows Nico's true identity. And ours."

This got Batman's attention. He tore his eyes away from the screen and met his oldest's gaze. He and Tim looked uncomfortable and Bruce realized that they were expecting him to get angry. Under other circumstances, he might have. Not angry at them, per say, but angry at the breach in protocol and the vulnerability that came with being exposed. He took a moment to compose himself before he spoke.

"How?"

"She says that she sensed death on Ghost just as she did on Nico. She promised that our secret is safe with her, but I'm not so sure." Batman hummed in agreement. He was relieved to know that Nico hadn't said anything to the villainess, but that didn't change the fact that they'd been exposed. 

"There's something else," Tim cut in, "She's running with Harley and Catwoman. She's decided to take matters into her own hands and shake down Gotham's criminal Underworld." 

"Like this situation hasn't already gathered enough attention." Bruce set out a facial recognition scan for Poison Ivy in Gotham City. He got a hit within seconds. She was at one of Penguin's clubs but didn't seem to be causing any real problems. He'd monitor the situation and intervene if necessary.

"She seemed to believe that she had your permission," Dick noted. Batman hummed noncommittally and Nightwing sighed in resignation. He knew that it was pointless to press an issue that Bruce wasn't talking about. Sometimes he could get some answers out of the older man but usually, it just ended in an argument. Neither of them was in the mood for an argument that night.

"What do we do now?" Tim came up on his right, looking over his shoulder at the footage. 

"Our mortal technology and sources have failed us. If we want to have a chance at finding more clues, it may be pertinent to find other means of locating Nico. It might also be strategic to brush up on our ancient history." Another voice chimed in from behind them. Bruce looked at the reflection in one of his darkened screens and saw that Damian had come in while they were distracted.

"We can't bring anyone into this. We swore to Nico and the River Styx that we wouldn't discuss his heritage with anyone who didn't already know or until it became common knowledge. Nico was very adamant that we not break that oath." Nightwing interjected. 

"So we find someone who already knows." Damian countered.

"That has proven to be easier said than done," Bruce noted, "All efforts to contact Camp Half-Blood have gone unanswered. I've even tried to reach out to Hades with little success. We know that there was a Roman camp that he visited, but we have no way to contact them. Even the Hunters of Artemis are proving to be impossible to pin down." 

"We should contact Diana," Tim suggested, "she knows Nico's heritage and story better than we do. Maybe she can give us some direction."

"I'll make contact with Wonder Woman. In the meantime, I want the rest of you to hit the books. Search the library for any and all mythology books we have. Make note of anything that sounds useful. Pay particular attention to anything that mentions Tartarus, Gaea, or the Giants." He instructed. His proteges left to change and Bruce got into his suit.

Last he knew, Diana was at the Watchtower with some of the other Justice Leaguers. While a call would suffice, Batman also wanted to see what the Watchtower database had on Greek Monsters and weaponry that could be used against them. He could also stand to get out of the cave for a while and consider what had changed about his situation now that Ivy knew the truth. Nico first, Ivy later.

Over the years, the league had devoted a lot of time classifying and categorizing all the foes that they had come across for the future generations of heroes. Each Leaguer was in charge of adding and updating the database as new information came to light. Hopefully Diana or Aquaman had taken the time to add some of their monsters to that list. Anything that they knew would help Batman to come up with ways to fight and kill monsters and help Nico win the war.

 He could create weapons, devise strategies, and prepare his proteges for the fight ahead. 

Once he was all suited up, he took a zeta beam to the Watchtower. He was grateful to find that he was alone. He didn't want to talk to any of his nosy coworkers and risk saying something he'd regret. He'd resolved to be more careful with his tone after he'd accidentally made Shazam cry, having momentarily forgotten that he was a literal child. When that finally came to light, the other Leaguers were not going to be pleased.

Batman made his way to a computer terminal and started accessing the adversary database. He refined his search by Greek and came up with 500 possible foes. Then he began narrowing it down by monsters and that narrowed it down to about 200 entries. At least this was a manageable number. It'd take some time to scan through all the files so he started uploading them to the Bat Computer. He stayed to sift through some himself and to make sure that nothing went wrong with the upload.

While he was scanning through a file on gorgons, the door slid own behind him, "Batman?" It was Wonder Woman. He didn't even spare her a glance.

"What are you doing here? Do you have a mission?" She came up beside him and looked over his shoulder.

"No, this is a personal matter." 

"Is this about Ghost? Bruce, you couldn't have known what he was planning to do," she assured him. Bruce glared at the screen but didn't otherwise acknowledge that she had spoken. He wasn't about to get into what he should or shouldn't have known. That wasn't useful. Looking at the past wouldn't bring Nico back to him.

"Tell me, what kills Greek monsters?" Diana sighed but humored him. She launched into a long explanation about godly metals and materials that could kill monsters. She talked about the different types of magical objects like her lasso and how they were gifts from the gods. Weapons such as hers could easily dispatch a monster. 

"Where can I get some of these materials?"

"Batman, you won't even be able to touch the weapons yourself. You're mortal, remember? The blades will go right through you," Diana insisted.

"I wasn't asking for your permission. If you won't help me, I will find someone who will." Batman made to stand up but Diana rested her hand on his shoulder.

"I never said I wouldn't help," she sighed and crossed her arms pointedly, "Your best bet would be to get some weapons from Aquaman. He has an arsenal of weapons that you should be able to wield. They were a gift from Poseidon himself." She suggested.

"Asking a Leaguer for something so specific will draw unwanted attention to us. As you well know, we have an oath to uphold," Bruce countered. 

"Aquaman and most of the league know that demigods exist already. Talking to him won't breach your oath. And I'm sure Arthur has noticed the rise in monster activity as of late. I know that I have," Diana countered. This got his attention. He hadn't realized that there was anything to notice. Though Nico did say something about Gotham being protected so Bruce wasn't sure that he would notice an overall increase in monster activity, especially if he didn't know what he was looking for. 

"What sort of activity have you noticed?" 

"Monsters have been gathering in large numbers and seem to be migrating towards the different coasts. I've squashed any groups that I've come across but I've noticed that the monsters aren't staying dead and the ones that do will be back within a few days." Diana reached over to another monitor and began pulling something up on the screen. When she stepped back, Batman could see a detailed topographical map of the country with thermal imaging. There were clusters of really dark and really bright masses spread out all over the map.

"This is a scan that I've set to read both extremely hot and extremely cold signatures. Monsters rarely fall into the normal human body temperature, after all." The map showed the greatest concentrations of signatures in New York, California, and Alaska. There were pockets of abnormal signatures over the rest of the country and Canada but the main concentrations were undoubtedly on the coasts.

"And this is out of the ordinary?"

"Definitely. It is rare to see monsters working or traveling together unless they are pack hunters. These groups are more organized-- almost like an army. If I had to guess, I would say that there was another war on the horizon." 

"That's what Ghost was warning us about. He said that Gaea was rising and that she was bringing the Giants back." Batman traced his finger between the gatherings, trying to see if there was any pattern. There didn't seem to be.

"That would make sense. History is repeating itself." Bruce didn't need to ask what she meant by that. Nico had explained how Greek history was only changed by the actions of demigods but how some events always seemed to come to pass. 

"I understand why there might be a lot of monsters in New York and California, but why are there so many in Alaska?" Bruce focused the map on Alaska to emphasize his point. 

"Alaska is considered to be the land beyond the gods. Monsters live there out of reach of the gods or demigods who might slay them, making it densely populated. Canada also has quite a few monsters and even some gods of their own. I think Boreas is centered in Quebec these days." 

"Let's see if Arthur has noticed these changes," Bruce sent the list of Greek monsters to the Bat computer's database before shutting it down, "He's in Atlantis right now, isn't he?"

"As far as I know. I believe he has a summit with Amphitrite and the other ocean kingdoms this week. He'll likely be stretched thin." She cautioned.

"Then I'll be sure not to take up too much of his time."

++++

"Batman, Wonder Woman," Arthur greeted, "What can I do for you?" It was remarkable to Batman that the sound a visual quality was still good even if Arthur was underwater. 

"Aquaman, I wanted to know if you had noticed any abnormalities in monster behavior in Atlantis. They seem to be gathering on land and my sources say that war is in our future." Batman didn't bother with pleasantries. Arthur had known him long enough not to be taken aback by his directness.

"They're not staying dead, either, at least not for long," Diana agreed. 

"We've seen the same behaviors underwater as well and have come to the same conclusion. Pray tell, what does this have to do with you, Batman? You're mortal."

"Ghost isn't. He's a demigod."

"But the boy is missing, isn't he? I don't see how him being a demigod makes it your job to wade into a war," Aquaman countered, raising his eyebrow.

"This is my planet and there are lives at stake. What other reason do I need?" Arthur's eyes narrowed but he didn't press the issue further.

"Very well, what do you need from me?"

"The weapons that I have don't work on this enemy. I need to upgrade my arsenal if I'm going to  fight this. Especially since I can't touch the godly metals."

"So the great batman is truly mortal? I wondered." Batman glared at the man as he continued. "I can give you some of the blueprints for Atlantean weapons but that's all I can do for you. They're magical weapons so I'll give you some prototypes to work off of. Truthfully, I'm not sure if you will be able to recreate them," The Atlantean cautioned.

"Maybe not, but I have to try."  

"Good luck to you both. Aquaman out." The screen went dark and Batman sighed. 

"What? I thought that went well." Diana frowned in confusion.

"He made a good point. How can someone without magic create a magic weapon?"

"You ask someone who has magic." Diana held out her lasso and Batman gave her a curious look.  He hadn't been aware that she knew how to create magic weapons as her lasso had been a gift. He decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Then let's get started."

++++

Meanwhile back in the library, the Bat boys had taken to pulling all the books that even remotely mentioned Greek Mythology and stacking them on the tables. Tim was on his laptop scanning through scholarly articles online for anything that might be useful. Dick was in an armchair looking through the books that had been written by that 'scribe' on the deep web. 

Jason was still out committing crimes and Damian was still on his mission with his team so they wouldn't be back to help until late. Alfred had brought them dinner and had let them know that there were fresh cookies in the kitchen when they needed to take a break. He asked that they try to get some sleep at some point, but they all knew that it was going to be a late night. 

After a few hours, Bruce came into the library with Wonder Woman, both were dressed in their civilian attire. It wasn't all that frequent that a JLA member was allowed into the manor so her presence drew the boy's attention away from their research. 

"Diana?" Richard asked, sitting up from where he had been slumped in his chair. Jason would be sorry he missed this.

"Hello, Dick. Timothy." 

"Where are we at?" Bruce interrupted the pleasantries. Diana winked at the boys with a playful smirk. She had a way of softening Bruce's sharp edges. 

"Not much further than we were before. We found pretty much the same things that Nico was telling us. You need magic or a godly weapon to kill a Greek monster and godly metals simply pass through mortals." Dick reported. 

"I've been able to identify some more types of monsters to add to the database, but the information is conflicting, as is the mythology. For every assertion a book makes, there are a dozen conflicting accounts. I've been trying to sort through it all but without someone who knows what these monsters are, it will be impossible to know what is fact and what is fiction." Tim spoke up. Bruce hummed in consideration. 

"I can always help to fill in some of those gaps," Diana offered.

"That'd be great." Tim agreed. 

"Check the Bat Computer database as well. I've downloaded some of the databases from the watchtower and that has 200 entries about Greek monsters to sort through. That should help you figure out what is and isn't true." 

"On it."Tim left for the Bat Cave with Bruce and Diana close behind him. Tonight Bruce would be getting a crash course in Greek fighting styles and magical weaponry.

++++

"I've programmed the Cave Computer with the parameters from the Watchtower's database. The platform should now be able to display lifelike holograms of Greek monsters and provide an accurate representation of what it would be like to meet them in battle." Bruce explained to his proteges. They had all returned to the manor by then, though Jason was a little reluctant knowing that Batman wouldn't have approved of what he had been doing beforehand. 

Normally Bruce would have been angry that Jason had been out reaffirming his territory by killing off his competitors but he had decided that he had more important matters to deal with right then. Getting in an argument about why Jason couldn't become a crimelord wouldn't get them anywhere. 

"What about the weapons? I didn't think that our weapons would work against them." Damian asked, having been out of the loop.

"Normally, yes. That is why I've enlisted the help of Diana and Aquaman to help figure out how to create magical items or at least harness the ones we have already in order to fight this war."

"The ones we have already?" Jason frowned, "We have magical items?"

"It has come to my attention that Batman, the JLA, and the Young Justice team each have some magical items already. The problem is that they lack the awareness, magical ability, heritage, and or skill necessary to wield them." Diana explained. 

"Until we can get out hands on those items, we need to start analyzing the possible opponents and devising methods to take them down," Batman introjected, "Tim and Damian will go first. the opponents are random and you'll use these replication Greek swords until we can get our hands on the real things. Remember, just because the swords can't hurt you doesn't mean that monsters or magic can't. Also, those swords are regular steel and can hurt you."

The two boys stepped up onto the platform and the program began. The first monster to appear was a manticore. It had a lion's body, a scorpion tail, and spikes on the end of the tail that it could flick at enemies like projectiles-- a weapon it didn't hesitate to use

It simultaneously lunged at Damian and shot spines at Tim forcing both to dodge out of the way. The pair stood in the center of the ring with their backs to one another as the beast circled them foaming at the mouth and growling. 

"Isn't this the first monster Nico ever faced? I'm pretty sure that's what the book said," Dick asked from the sideline. Bruce didn't comment, having not read the books, himself. He hadn't had time. 

"I'll distract it and you cut off the tail?" Tim murmured. Damian hummed in agreement.

Eventually, the manticore got impatient and lunged again, this time the boys were ready. Tim slashed at the monster's face and he was surprised at just how much momentum the sword managed to pick up in such a short swing. Damian leaped onto the creature's back and swung his own sword in a deadly ar that severed the tail from the rest of the animal. 

Damian was thrown off the beast's back and had to dive and roll away. Tim seized the opportunity to rush in and stab his sword through the bottom of the manticore's mouth up into its brain. The monster exploded into pixels and a Minotaur took its place.  The fight continued. 

"They're doing well, " Diana whispered to Bruce, "They're adapting to the new style. You've trained them well." The pair watched the four boys on the platform, handling a swarm of harpies. 

"I just hope that it's enough." 

"It will be," Diana assured him, though Bruce didn't feel as confident as she did. Just to bring back all of his children alive. That would be enough.

[Please comment and tell me what you think. Also, it looks like a majority of people are interested in seeing the Cupid scene from an Asexual point of view so I'm looking forward to that. As we get closer I'll know better what does and doesn't work and we will see how it goes. It feels good to know that I'm going to be able to give a little bit of representation to my fellow Aces. Thank you to everyone who took part in the survey and gave your honest opinions! I really appreciate it!]