[Edited April 25, 2023]

[Jason Grace guys, not Jason Todd]

The next morning Nico packed a bag with godly food, a couple of changes of clothes, his dagger, a pouch of batarangs (which he could throw fairly accurately), some drachmas, and some water. He wasn't planning on staying too long, but he didn't know how many times he could shadow travel in a row. He needed to be prepared to stay the night somewhere if he ran out of energy. At least he knew about some safehouse in both California and China in case he got stuck somewhere.

 Hades had warned him not to over-extend himself when it came to his powers as he wasn't sure what would happen. It was possible that he would melt into Shadows like Hitler had-- leaving no trace that he had ever existed in the first place. It was a sobering thought, one that convinced the son of Hades not to test his limits too harshly. 

The son of Hades ate breakfast with the bat fam and explained that he had packed provisions in case the 3 or 4 shadow jumps in a row proved to be too much. With luck, he would be back by tonight though it was more likely that would be back by tomorrow afternoon instead. After breakfast, Nico said his goodbyes and his brothers wished him luck. Bruce reminded him that the phone only had one number on it so he couldn't get confused and reminded him of the address of a safe house that he had in California should he need it.

After Nico had said his farewells, he headed to his room to find a dark corner. He had to go to the Underworld first and just pray that the Romans would allow him to stay at their camp if he needed to-- though he wasn't hopeful. First was the Underworld, then the Roman camp, then back. It might end up being 4 jumps if he had enough energy to go see Hazel. Really, he should just skip visiting Hazel, but he wanted to see her. It had been a while since he had heard from her and he wanted to make sure that she was still ok. He owed her that much.

Since it had been faster last time to just ask Hades first, Nico would start there. If Hades didn't know, he would search for Jason's soul himself. Nico pictured the grand entry hall in his mind and he felt himself dissolving. Nico reemerged from the darkness and shivered. No matter how many times he did it, the sudden cold chill always got him.

Nico didn't want to stay in the underworld for long so he wasted no time in entering the throne room, where Hades usually keeps a small portion of his consciousness. This part of Hades was talking to Persephone, who had come to spend her term in the Underworld. As he approached, the demigod could tell that they were talking about Pamela.

"Nico," Persephone greeted with slightly less disdain than usual, "I see you have allied yourself with that crazed dryad-human hybrid. I like her, don't you dare hurt that woman."

"I wasn't planning on it, my lady," he responded, trying to be civil. Persephone looked at him suspiciously before processing out of the room.

"What did you want, son?" Hades said tiredly. Persephone and her mother did that to him. He knew Hades loved Persephone, but the first month of winter was always the worst because Demeter had nothing better to do than pester them.

"I just wanted to know if Jason Grace died?"

"That Roman boy? Has he disappeared too?" Hades didn't really sound surprised.

"Yes, Father. The Romans asked me to check for him here," Nico replied.

"They would, wouldn't they," Hades muttered disdainfully. Nico didn't know what his father meant, but he didn't question it.

"Reyna promised Hazel a probatio status, as long as she had a sponsor if I did this for them. It seemed to be a good trade." Nico defended himself.

"Indeed, good work." Hades nodded approvingly. Nico couldn't believe what he had heard for a moment. Did he approve? It wasn't often that Hades voiced his opinion-- in approval or otherwise. Nico's chest filled with pride.

"Thank you, Father."

"As for your missing praetor, he has not shown up down here. Here, take a letter from me saying it as well. The Romans wouldn't dare refute the word of a god. They are too obedient." Hades held out his hand and a rolled-up scroll appeared in his palm. He tossed it to his son.

"Thank you, Father." Nico hesitated before continuing, "The Waynes are getting suspicious, and they want me to tell them everything about the trips I have been making to California when I get back. What should I do?" Hades grimaced and he felt his stomach sink. He knew that Hades was going to tell him to disobey the mortal, but Nico didn't want to do that. Bruce had done so much for him and he didn't want to repay the older man with lies or disrespect. He didn't want to try the man's patience and find the limit of the man's charity.

"You mustn't tell them yet, at least not until Hazel gets to the camp. You cannot afford any complications, there is more than her safety on the line." Hades reminded him of the consequences he had accepted by reviving her, "Here, this scroll will tell them that I have strictly forbidden you to tell them until a certain event has passed. Do they still think I'm neglectful?" Hades held another scroll in his palm. This one was ash-colored.

"Yes, I haven't told them that..." Nico was about to tell him that he hadn't gotten around to revealing the truth to them yet but he was cut off before he could finish.

"No, no," Hades interrupted, "This could work to our advantage. Besides, by mortal standards, I probably am." He admitted.

"Father..." Nico started, not having any real idea of what he was going to say. Hades didn't treat him badly per se, and he was certainly doing better about being involved in his life, but he still would be what Bruce considered to be a good parent. Though Nico would take Hades over almost any other god as a parent if given the choice.

"It doesn't matter right now." Hades waved his son's concerns away, "This does not change the fact that you had better not let them find out about Hazel, I lost her once and I will not tolerate losing her again. Do you understand?" Hades pointed his finger at Nico and the demigod remembered the last time he had done that. He liquified a tree in a matter of moments. Nico wasn't in danger of being liquified anymore, but it did drive the god's point home.

"Don't let them find out," he finished and handed his son the second scroll.

"Yes, Father," Nico bowed before proceeding back out into the entrance hall. From there, he shadow traveled to Camp Jupiter. Nico had been thinking about his father's words rather than a place to land and it had pulled him astray. Nico ended up in a dark and creepy shack with an altar in the middle of it. He had better night vision than most people but he still couldn't see very well in this place.

Nico cautiously took a look around before pushing open the door. he could see the town in the distance so he assumed that he was in some kind of forgotten temple. The son of Hades walked into the light and squinted. He looked above the door to see what god's temple he had trespassed upon and was angered to see Pluto's symbol above the door. This run-down shack of a temple was dedicated to his father. There were three such temples in the field. One that was only slightly more well-kept was for Poseidon-- no Neptune. The last was huge and perfect, dedicated to the king of the gods. No wonder Jupiter was the most powerful, he had an entire camp that worshipped him.

Nico struggled to keep his anger in check. He calmed himself down before he turned to go into the village. When he turned, however, he was greeted by Octavian. Nico took a sharp breath-- having been startled by the creepy stuffed animal sacrificer.

"Oh yes, your father isn't respected around here." Octavian pointed out gesturing towards the sad temple with his ceremonial knife.

"Yes, I am aware. Death has never been very popular." Nico agreed, regaining his composure. He couldn't let this boy know how uncomfortable he made him. The son of Hades knew this boy's type and he wouldn't put himself in a position that Octavian could take advantage of.

"What do you want coming here? There are no positions of power open, especially not for the likes of you. No one here wants a child of Pluto around."

"That does seem to be the trend." Nico muttered then louder, "I am not looking for power, I have all the power I need in the Underworld." he lied. Nico couldn't do much of anything in the Underworld-- not that there really was much to do in the first place. Hades ran a pretty tight ship and between Cerberus, Thanatos, and the Furies, Hades had pretty much all the help he needed.

"Then why are you here?"

"Right now or in general?"

"Both."

"Well, I came here in search of a safe place for my sister to train. Right now I'm looking for your praetor. Why are you here?" Nico fired back cooly. He knew that these answers wouldn't satisfy the boy's curiosity, but he also knew that he wouldn't press the issue either.

"Hmm." Octavian stormed off.

"Interesting. There are very few people who can under his skin like that." A voice came from behind the temple. Nico turned around to find Reyna and her greyhounds, "I had a hunch I would find you here."

"That goes for one of us. I didn't quite mean to land in that disgrace of a temple." He replied. He probably should have been more diplomatic, but he was annoyed. It wasn't fair that Hades was so disrespected. The Romans didn't understand just how much Hades did for them-- for the planet.

"Yeah, Pluto isn't our most honored god. Years ago one of our former praetors tried to have the people clean them out and fix them up, but they called him a radical." Reyna admitted.

"I see."

"Any good news?" Reyna prompted.

"Yes, Jason is not dead. However, I have no clue where he is. Here, Pluto was feeling generous so this is a scroll declaring it." Reyna took the scroll and eyed her silver hound for a couple of moments before nodding.

"Very well. You have kept up your end of the bargain. Your sister will be accepted here. I do have a couple of questions, however. For one, why doesn't she stay in the Underworld like you?"

"Pluto thinks that things will get a little too hectic in the Underworld, with all of the escaping souls, for him to train her. He wanted me to find a place where she'd be safe." The dog bared its teeth but didn't react. Little lie detectors. Nico's heart leaped to his throat. With all the lies he was going to have to tell, this was not going to be good.

"Uh-huh." Nico could tell she didn't buy it. He felt bad for lying, but he also couldn't tell her the truth. Nico decided to clarify instead.

"Well, Pluto did send me to find a place where my sister will be safe." He assured the praetor. Her metal hounds relaxed.

"Alright, Mr. Di Angelo. Thank you for your service to the camp. You are welcome to stay and watch the war games," She offered.

"No, thanks. Octavian was right that no one here will want a child of Pluto around."

"I wish I could argue, but you're right. The people here aren't often very accepting." She agreed.

"I understand, praetor. Thank you for the offer, however."

"It was the least I could do. I presume you'll keep us updated?"

"Of course!" The ambassador of Pluto replied readily. He had already been planning to keep her informed anyways. Reyna smiled gratefully, but the smile didn't meet her eyes. She was running out of hope.

"Farewell, then. Gods be with you." Reyna then started the long trek back to the city. Nico watched her go for a while, wondering how it was that she came to power. When she disappeared from sight, Nico went back over to the rickety old Pluto temple, it was time to go home. He had wanted to see Hazel, but he also knew that he only had enough energy to make one more trip. Hazel could take care of herself and he still planned on finding her in his dreams. It wasn't ideal, but he would have to make do.

When Nico got home he was quite tired. He landed in the study and didn't have much time to get to a couch before he passed out. The son of Hades hoped one of his brothers would find him, preferably Dick. For some reason, Nico got along better with him than the others-- and it seemed that his adopted brothers felt the same way. Dick had a way of befriending all of them, despite how different they all were. It surprised him to think about it, but Nico had really begun to care about them.

As he fell asleep, his dream self was taken to where ever Richard was, as he was the last one he had been thinking of when he fell asleep. He was in a huge cave that was well furnished, obviously a base of some sort. This one looked a lot more inviting than the bat cave, brighter and more furnished. Richard was in his Nightwing outfit and was standing in a large group of teens each one dressed in a costume based on their mentor and powers.

[Spoiler in parentheses if you are behind on young Justice!]

(Wally is not dead, I refuse to accept it).

There was an Atlantean, a girl with green skin, a boy who looked suspiciously like Superman, a boy in a yellow Flash uniform, a boy surrounded by blue and black armor, and a girl in a magician's outfit. Those were just the people that Nico could see, who knows who else was in this base. The teens were talking to a group on the screen. There was a girl with the wonder woman symbol on her chest, a girl in a bee outfit, a fish boy, and a couple more that Nico couldn't see from this angle. Quite the assortment they had there. They were probably more dangerous than they looked.

(This is a mission that never actually happened. I am not great with remembering every mission the young justice team went on or what happened in them).

"They were all dead when you got there?" Nightwing confirmed.

"Yes. The cause of death is unclear. I found no obvious wounds and the toxicology report has come back negative for poisons," Tim's voice came from the screen. Damian was probably with the Teen Titans and Jason was probably still at home.

"No clues as to what the perpetrators were after?" Nightwing asked.

"No, however, there are signs of a struggle inside the base but none on the bodies," Tim reported.

"You found nothing?" Richard sounded surprised. Tim was a great detective and it was rare that he would ever come to a dead end. Nico found it odd that he didn't find any clues as to how they died. They were probably dealing with a professional killer then.

"I was surprised too. We haven't seen anything out of the ordinary at the scene. There's a rag with a bit of blood on it, but it seems to be the vic's. They don't have any noticeable wounds, no bruising, and no damage to the room they're in," Tim replied.

"No wounds for the blood to have come from?"

"None that I could see."

"Are you all still at the scene?"

"Yes, no one will find this place for a while. We can keep it protected until you guys get here."

"Do you think it would be worthwhile to bring in our consultant?" Nightwing questioned.

"Ghost?" Tim confirmed. They were planning in consulting with him. Nico was flattered that they had enough faith in his abilities to think that he might be able to solve a case that had stumped at least two veteran vigilantes.

"Yeah, we know his general location. It shouldn't take us long to find him. He won't like it though," Nico figured that translated to: he's either home, in California, or in the Underworld, but we know how to contact him.

"Wait, who is this 'Ghost' dude and why do we need his help?" A blond girl in a green crop top asked, crossing her arms. The flash look-alike put an arm around her comfortingly. The girl relaxed a little but she still seemed a little skeptical about the whole situation.

"Calm down Arty," Dick teased, the blond girl hummed in response, "Ghost is our newest consultant. Batman discovered him operating in Gotham earlier this week as an information broker. He specializes in determining causes of death and even motives, sometimes. If anyone can figure out how these guys died, it's him." The son of Hades thought that was high praise, considering he had only really shown that he could solve one puzzle. Though he guessed he could always ask the victim's souls if he absolutely had to. One way or another, he would get results.

"Alright, call him and get over here. We'll keep the scene secure until then," Tim said.

"Understood," Nightwing replied and cut the feed.

"Nightwing, is this 'Ghost' very dangerous? Can he be trusted?" The Atlantean asked.

"Yes," Nightwing replied before leaving the room presumably to find Nico. The demigod in question began to wake up to the feeling of someone shaking him. He opened his eyes and saw Bruce standing over him.

"Hey there, sleepyhead. We didn't realize you were back." Nico sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, I passed out just about as soon as I landed." He stretched his sore muscles. Bruce handed him a pouch of ambrosia and he took it gratefully. With one bite Nico felt the energy flow through his body. He'd be right as rain in a few minutes. His body was adjusting well. The more he shadow traveled, the less it took out of him. He just had to be careful, but soon he'd be able to go much longer distances.

"Come on, get up." Bruce grabbed him by the upper arm and helped him stand up, "Richard needs you out in the field."

"Yeah, I saw it in my dream. He needs me to determine the cause of death," Nico agreed following Bruce to the entrance to the Batcave.

"Right. We have created the basic components of your costume, so you can wear that for now. We still have to add on the bat symbol but we'll leave it off for now while you're acting as a consultant. You're not officially part of our team so we can still use you for infiltration work later if we need to," Bruce explained as we reached the cave's museum.

"Ok?" Nico said, not fully understanding what he was saying.

"Don't worry about it for now. You will have a smaller utility belt than the rest of us. it has four small pockets. One for your dagger coin, one for drachmas, one for your phone, and one for the godly food. The rest of your suit is made out of pieces of Kevlar and reinforced cotton. It should be fine for consultant work but it will need some major upgrades if you ever become a vigilante," Bruce continued, reaching a work table. 

Nico's uniform lay on the table. There was a pair of black cargo pants with reinforced knees and many zipped-up pockets. There was a pair of black combat boots as well. The soles were built like tennis shoes, allowing for maneuverability. His shirt was black, long-sleeved, and was reinforced on the chest and back with kevlar. Next to the outfit lay a simple domino mask and a pair of long black gloves.

[If someone wants to draw him in it, feel free. I can't draw worth anything. The Discord link is in my profile!]

"Wow." He breathed. It was certainly the nicest thing anyone had ever given him.

"Go get suited up. Richard needs you at Mount Justice as soon as possible. It took us a while to find you." Bruce handed the demigod the belt from a shelf and shooed him toward the bathrooms. It didn't take very long for him to change, the costume was meant for someone a little fuller than he was. Nico guessed Alfred had just been planning ahead. 

He had gained some weight with Alfred's three meals-a-day service but he still had some growing to do. Nico's skin finally looked olive again and he could actually look at himself in the mirror without cringing. Hopefully, he'd hit his growth spurts soon and the suit would be the perfect size. He supposed the oversized look would make him look less like he was organized which would fit the lone information broker look just fine. 

The outfit was comfortable and surprisingly flexible. He wouldn't have too much trouble fighting in this if he needed to. The shoes were a little stiff, but they were designed to move like tennis shoes so it really wasn't all that bad. He put the domino mask on last and looked at himself in the mirror. Nico felt strangely stronger in this outfit. When he looked into the glass, he couldn't recognize himself, which he guessed was the point of the costume.

The son of Hades met Bruce back outside and he nodded approvingly, "Hmm, it suits you. Come, I'll take you to the zeta tube. It is a mode of transportation. It will take you to Mount Justice where you will join the team. Don't give away that you're connected to Nightwing or the others. Don't talk too much, we haven't trained you too much in interrogation tactics and you might say more than you realize. Just act like you don't want to be there," Bruce coached.

"Okay, anything else I should know?" Nico asked as he checked to make sure he had everything. Nico hadn't really been planning on talking to them too much anyway. He was excited to go on the mission but not as excited to meet this new team. He was sure that they were nice, but connecting with people was a lot of work and Nico didn't really see the point in trying if he was only going to see them every once in a while.

"Tell them that Batman brought you in. I sent you through a telephone booth. Nightwing will brief you on the detail of the mission once you get there." Bruce explained.

Nico stepped into the tube.