Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Healer's chest was burning from all this running.

He was used to this by now, he wasn’t new to this kind of work. Of course not. He had been training for this his entire life. It had been drilled into him since he was a child, but he was just after healing some civilians and The Healer was quite frankly exhausted.

‘No name, no face, no identity. You are a healer. Your light is meant to cast a glow onto those you help.’

His light, the one thing he believed himself to be good at, he was supposed to use it to help others.

Will was snapped out of his thoughts by Aster shouting at him.

“Cut her off!” She yelled from behind her facemask, “Make sure you don’t listen to anything she says!”

He sped up, trying to overtake the villain in front of them, his feet squelched from the damp roofs he was running over, making it difficult to focus on following the villain and making sure he didn’t slip. Still, he managed better than Aster who was busy trying not to throw up at the fact that they were up so high. Will could practically feel the nausea radiating from Astera, or as he would more regularly call her, Thalia Grace.

“Do you want to go on the ground and try to cut her off from there?” He yelled back to her, making sure to keep pace.

“Are you sure you can handle it?”

He rolled my eyes behind his mask, “It’s better than you throwing up all over our target!”

He could hear Thalia make her way to the stairs that led to the street, ‘ Ok Will, stay calm. You can do this, remember your training. We need to assess what we are up against.’

He looked at the back of the person he was chasing. She was known as Ananke. Clad in lighter clothing, she was designed for speed, preferring to use her powers of charm from a distance. However, if in a close-range fight, she wasn’t completely unprepared, Will was familiar with the deadly wounds she could inflict with a small dagger that she always keeps by her waist. The best way to handle her would be too-

“STOP CHASING ME!” Ananke yelled to Astera.

Will could see Astera unwillingly coming to a stop, ‘ How the heck did she forget the first rule of dealing with charm speakers?!’ Will cursed under his breath, ‘ Think William, think.’

Will looked around the place, thinking of what to do next. He couldn’t just let her go...

Will thought for a minute. This was his chance to show he was worthy of actually being a hero, instead of some healer sidekick. He didn't even have a name, only being known as the healer who followed Astera.

He tried to think but his mind was still clouded by exhaustion. Instead, he just opted to run after her, trying to block his ears with his hands.

Eventually, he managed to tackle Ananke, sending them both rolling on the roof top. All he could feel was hitting, scratching and tumbling.

And eventually he felt the warm flow on his side, vastly different from the cold water from the roof. Looking down he saw Ananke’s bronze dagger in his side before she ripped it out.

“AGH!” He cried, letting go and trying to cover the wound, or at least find it under the sea of cloth and fabric that made up his suit.

He saw Ananke get up and continue running. He heard Thalia scream his name. He tasted iron.

The wound was deep. If Will wasn’t exhausted, he would have…he would have done something. But now. Now he was cursed to die on a cold rooftop, unable to be saved by his best friend.

“ Stop it Solace, when did you start being so depressing? Where is the guy who makes stupid Star Wars references? Where is the guy who would do anything to save others?

Why can’t you save yourself?”

His eyes started watering. Was this the end? He couldn’t die a nobody. A nameless healer.

He couldn’t die like that.

He felt a warmth emanate from his wound. It felt like a fire had burned within him. Or was it always there?

This fire…it wasn’t visible, but he could feel it burn within him, filling him with energy and washing away his wound.

He opened his eyes. What felt like minutes to him had only been a few seconds in the real world. Getting up he started to run again, filled with adrenaline, racing after Ananke with more speed than he had before, eventually catching up to her.

She turned to see him right next to her, “How- YOU SHOULD BE ON THE FLOOR BLEEDING OUT-“ She took a turn and jumped towards another building, but she was human and Will knew Ananke couldn’t hold up running for much longer.

He was soon proven correct, as Ananke began to slow. She was panting and they had been running for far too long, yet she kept going.

Even though she kept running, Will was faster and was feeling far less tired than Ananke was. Reaching out he grabbed the hood of her jacket, causing her to lose her balance and stumble. Will took this opportunity to tackle her again, this time making sure to not go tumbling. She took out her dagger and tried stabbing him with it.

He felt the dagger on his chest and he instinctively went to grab it, only to find that instead of being wounded, he was softly glowing.

“Impossible…” He muttered, looking down at himself in shock.

“WHAT ARE YOU?” Ananke yelled, “ARE YOU SOME KIND OF MONSTER?! HOW THE FUCK CAN SOMEONE SURVIVE THAT!? JUST DIE ALREADY!”

She kept stabbing him and stabbing him, over and over and over, while he just took it. Eventually Ananke grew tired, tears falling from under her mask, “No- I can’t- I can’t just- just- It can’t end like this- I never- I never got to- to fix them- “

She continued whispering nonsense like this, yet Will couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

“I’m sorry Ananke but…I have to do this…” He took out handcuffs and clicked them into her wrists, wrestling her dagger out of her hands and putting it in one of the pouches at his side.

Eventually, after properly making sure Ananke couldn’t use her charmspeak ability by covering her mouth with a gag, Will heard the sound of Astera climbing up the ladder on the side of the roof they were on, “You- actually got her!” She said between breaths.

He laughed, “You sound surprised.”

“Considering I thought I saw you get stabbed I think I have a right to be a little surprised.”

‘Oh yeah,’ He thought, ‘I got stabbed, didn’t I? How the fuck did I survive that?’

‘Was that some sort of new power? No, it couldn’t be. I already have powers over healing…So how did I survive that? It felt more like a sort of…invincibility? Energy? Light? How could I describe it?’

“Healer?” Astera’s voice broke through his thought, “You feeling ok buddy? You used up a lot of your power when healing those civilians earlier. Do you want to sit down after we get down from here?”

“Uh…Sure…maybe I need it,” He was lying. He felt completely revitalized but he didn’t have time to sort through his thoughts and explain to Astera what was going on, so, after getting Ananke down to an alleyway and tying her to a bar next to a staircase, he sat down on the staircase, waiting for the detainment crew to show up so they could go back to their respective corporations.  

Will observed the alleyway. It was dank and dearie, opening up to a street in District 7 on the right of the building they had just climbed down, and on the left was the staircase he was sitting on, presumably leading up to another exit from the shape of the buildings. Rubbish littered the ground, getting washed away by the rain that was still falling. Will could hear a car and prayed to whatever god existed that it was the detainment crew.

However, instead of the detainment crew, the media had caught up to them first. A swarm of about five different news stations with their camera crews came into the alleyway shoving their cameras into their faces. Will knew there had to be someone there with speed or telepathy as a superpower, there was no way they always caught up to them…Well, caught up to Thalia.

“Astera! How did you capture and detain Ananke?”

“Oh- No it wasn’t- “

“Astera! Over here! Our cameras caught footage of you getting caught in Ananke’s charmspeak! How did you get out of that and deal with the capture?”

“I don’t- “

“Do you think your move from Eagle’s Corp. in District 1 to Hunter Corp. in District 8 and subsequently District 7 was a good move in the long run?”

“Isn’t that a bit personal- “

Will snarled under his mask, jealousy seeping into his thoughts causing a lump to form in his throat. Unable to deal with this much longer he just whispered to Thalia, “You deal with this lot, and I’ll wait for the detainment crew.”

She mouthed a thanks before turning back to the reporters. Their questions still ringing in his ears making him angrier and angrier.

Will grabbed Ananke’s arm and led her up the stairs he was sitting on a few seconds ago and out of the alley.

“It’s always Astera isn’t it,” He mumbled under his breath, “Never- Ugh I don’t even have a name, of course they wouldn’t care.”

Eventually Will made his way to the end of the alley, still muttering his words of self-pity. Dropping Ananke down and tying her to a lamp on the edge of the street. He took out his phone from the inside pocket of the trench coat that came with his Healers uniform and saw he had a miss call. Hitting the call button, the receiving end picking up after three rings.

“Will?”

He sighed quietly, “Hey dad.”

“Will, you had me worried sick,” Apollo hissed, “Our cameras stopped receiving footage after some third-party interference when Astera was compromised,” Will looked at Ananke but couldn’t see any sign of a piece of tech that could cut out camera’s as expensive as the ones at Delphi Corp.

“Will? Will are you even listening to me?” He snapped out of his daze.

“Yeah, yeah sorry dad- “

“I just can’t believe you!” Apollo shouted, “Abandoning Astera, your own dedicated hero, to go running after some villain!”

“It wasn’t just any villain!”

“That’s not the point! You could have gotten seriously hurt!”

Will rolled his eyes under his mask, “But I didn’t! I’m completely fine!” He ignored the whole getting stabbed part.

“But you aren’t a hero, William! You weren’t trained one and you never will be one!” Will froze, “You are a healer, and your job is to support the team you are assigned to! Not go off and arrest the villains!” Apollo sighed, “Just…Just know your place.”

With that, there was a beep signifying that the call had ended.

Will dropped his arm down to his side, feeling his eyes prickle and his mouth twist, and with a growl he punched the wall next to him, causing the bricks to crack. He was never good enough. He was never supposed to be trusted. He was weak . He was useless . He was nameless. He was just another one of Delphi’s healers. Another support. Another medic. He would never get credit for his accomplishments. The others would never understand. Understand what it’s like to never be noticed. Understand what it was like to work your ass off and someone else got the praise. What was the point ?

Looking down at his hands they were faintly glowing again.

“I’m assuming that didn’t go well.”

Will froze and spun around to find the piece of cloth he used as a makeshift gag for Ananke had fallen to her neck

“Don’t worry,” She didn’t seem to be threatening, “I’m not in for a fight.”

Will knew he was being stupid. He knew he should have run over there and put that gag back on her mouth but…then what? She’d just tell him to stop with her charmspeak?

Will was so done .

“What do you want?” Will hissed.

Chapter Text

Nico sat patiently at the airport.

He stared at his shoes, waiting for his legal guardian to finish shopping in the duty-free stores. Examining each stitch and seam and how they were shameless brought together like the imminent threads of li-

“Oooo, is that Mythomagic?”

Nico got up and went over to one of the stores, fishing in his pocket for his wallet and pulling out ten euros. Thanking the shop attendant and collecting his change, he went back over to where he was sitting and began to open the card’s.

“Set…no, have him…. Thor? Seriously?...OH OH OH-“ He held up the card of a woman with long black hair surrounded by crows, “YES!” He pulled out his phone and took a picture of the shining card, sending it into a groupchat;

 Σ 

@ghost_king – GUYS LOOK, I GOT HER

@fair_angel – Ghost, isn’t it like…2am for you…why are you opening Mythomagic cards?

@lightning_the_queen – YOOOOOOOO WAY TO GO LITTLE MAN, IS THAT MORRIGAN????

@ghost _king – YEAH IT IS

@lightning_the_queen – WOOOOOOO, CROW LADY

@super_sized_mcshizzle – YOOOOOO

@super_sized_mcshizzle – DUDE, IS SHE SINGLE??????

@fair_angel – She will literally incinerate you

@super_sized_mcshizzle – Doesn’t answer my question

@fair_angel - ….

-@fair_angel has left the groupchat-

-@lightning_the_queen has added @fair_angel to the groupchat-

@super_sized_mcshizzle - …..anyway back to the matter at hand, death boy is up laaaaateeeeee

@ghost_king – Guys, don’t worry, I’m in the airport TvT

@fair_angel – You’re going on holidays? Have fun!

@super_sized_mcshizzle – Don’t get into too much trouble little man

@lightning_the_queen – I’m on night shift guys so I’ll be a bit busy, ttyl

@ghost_king – Bye light!

 Σ 

Nico put his phone down, smiling at the card before pulling out a little box and plopping it in, planning on transferring to his collecting folder later.

Sure, maybe Nico had committed a lie by omission by letting the others believe he was “going on holiday’s,” but even if he felt like he knew them far more than anyone in his real life, he still had only met them online a few months ago on a forum discussing Olympia City’s superheroes. He would tell them in a few months, of course, but not right now.

“Who’s excited to see our apartment!”

Nico raised his head to see a familiar woman with dark skin and intense green eyes jogging over to him with some shopping bags in her arms.

“Oh?” She glanced at him putting the box away in his bag, “Get a new card Neeks?” A hand came down to ruffle his hair.

“Hey!” He tried to grumble but couldn’t hold back a giggle, “I put a lot of effort into maintaining that!”

“HAH!” Eurydice laughed, “AS IF!”

He laughed again, swiping her hand away and letting her sit down, “Look, look!” He held up the picture of the card he had just gotten and pointed to it, “I got the Morrigan! I was looking for her to complete the three faces of- “

Eurydice looked patiently at him, listening to him ramble on about his card game. She always did this, and he really appreciated that she paid attention when he was rambling about his interests.

Nico knew that Eurydice wasn’t his real mom. She had been very open about the fact that she had adopted him when she moved to Italy 18 years ago. Yet, she was still caring and kind, treating him like one of her own. It was comfortable, and he knew how much she tried considering she was raising him alone with no help on a community gardeners’ salary. Even then, she had moved from her home in America to a completely new place.

Eurydice was the strongest person he knew, even compared to all of the heroes and villains that plagued the United States. Eurydice was the strongest.

Even compared to Rhodo, his favourite retro hero, Eurydice was far above, and he really admired her for it.

Nico finished up his info-dump on Mythomagic, smiling from ear to ear at how she just sat and listened.

“Ohhh..I think I get it now,” she laughed.

“You don’t have to lie about it…”

“No, no!” She flailed her hands in front of him, “I’m serious Nico, you really do have a way with explaining the things you enjoy, heck, I can probably recount all of the cards in Mythomagic at this point,” she ruffled his hair, “You are a really smart kid Nico.”

Nico could feel himself blush, slapping her hand away. He pulled up his hoodie up to his mouth to hide his embarrassment.

Eurydice looked around the airport and got up to study their departure gate for the millionth time, her dark brown curls bouncing as she walked. She stood there for a few minutes before nodding.

“We should probably head to our gate now, Neeks,” Eurydice began walking, grabbing both of their carry-on bags (even though Nico’s was practically empty save for his Mythomagic folders and some of his favourite articles on heroes. The rest was already at their new apartment).

He got up quickly and followed after her, swiping his bag, lagging behind due to their height difference.

  Σ 

Nico hated children, especially when those children were on ten-hour flights and wouldn’t go to sleep.

“Ugh,” He rubbed his eyes while coming out of the plane, “I just want a nap.” He muttered.

“Tell me about it,” Eurydice yawned while stretching, “But we’ll have to catch the subway, so don’t collapse just yet.”

Nico let out a groan and continued to make his way through the airport, he and Eurydice opting for a comfortable but quiet silence as they went.

Getting to the baggage collection area and waiting for what felt like an age with no sign of his luggage, Nico allowed his mind to wander.

“I’m going to go over to the TVs to check the news,” he whispered to Eurydice, seeing her nod before walking over to them.

This would be a good chance to brush up on his English. Even though he was top of his English class in upper-secondary school and Eurydice’s first language was English, Nico always felt like he had room to improve. He should always strive to be better than the Nico of yesterday.

Sure, it often left him feeling exhausted for days on end as he always tried to succeed, but it was worth it. Worth it to be the best, worth it to be better. So, what if Eurydice was worried for his mental health? So what if he would collapse from exhaustion after his intense workouts and study sessions? It will all be worth it when he develops a superpower. Then he can become a hero. Someone who could stand up to those who wronged him.

Sure…he might be a bit late to get his power…and sure…there has never been a case of someone developing a power this late…

Nico shook his head, focusing on the screen instead of his thoughts.

There was a beautiful Japanese girl with dark hair and eyes reading the headlines. It was the same old headlines, some stuff about jobs being needed near District 4, business news and the like. Nico’s ears perked up when the hero news came on.

“Villain Ananke evaded capture last night after being caught by Astera, more on that after this headline. Hero Nightshade still hasn’t been found. How will district 8 keep going without their leading hero? Interview with Hero Makaria after the weather. This has been Drew Tanaka on Olympia news. Jason, onto you!”

The camera panned to a blonde boy wearing a deep blue suit and a lightning bolt tie, “Thank you Drew. We will be seeing clear skies- “

Nico turned around to see Eurydice dragging both bags of luggage, somehow also juggling her carry-on luggage in the mix.

“Anything interesting?” She asked, handing him his suitcase.

He nodded, grabbing his suitcase, “They still can’t find Nightshade.”

“Still?” She raised a brow, “Oh, poor dear, I hope she’s alright.”

Nico grimaced, yet sighed, “I’m tired, we should probably find the subway.”

Eurydice nodded and made her way down one of the many paths in the maze they called an airport. Nico often forgot that she was born in Olympia City and knew it like the back of her hand even though she hadn’t been there for almost 19 years.

Eventually, the airport staircase that they found themselves walking down opened up into a dark red brick subway station, signs depicting the logo ‘Shadow Travel,’ were scattered around.

But what Nico had noticed immediately were the long queues of people being pushed back by a girl wearing a white owl mask and a hero suit depicting the logo of Aegis Corps.

“Is that The Owl?!” Nico muttered. He’d only been in America for a few minutes, and he already got to see a real life hero!

“Everybody out!” She yelled, “There’s been an altercation with a villain further up the line, so the subway is closing for the day!”

There were many cries of protest before a man with an owl mask in a wheelchair came up beside the girl.

“She’s right,” He shouted in a gravelly voice, “We haven’t identified the villain yet, so it is an unknown threat we are dealing with!”

“Oh shit…” Nico heard Eurydice murmur as the man seemed to look directly at her, “Nico, we should head out, I’ll sort out something.”

“What-? But isn’t that Nobody?” He whispered to her, “Do you think he’s mentoring that other hero there?”

“Nico,” She hissed, grabbing his wrist and trying to drag him away, “I said we should leave.”

He tried to rip his arm out of her grip instinctively. What was she so worked up about?

“What the hell is going on?” He hissed at her angrily.

“We don’t have time; I’ll tell you when we get out- “

He tried to protest but she had a death grip on his wrist, somehow the luggage was following behind them, rolling behind them and somehow keeping momentum.

“What the hell is happening?!” He yelped at her. Nico looked over at the two heroes. The man was whispering something to the girl before she raised her head and looked at Nico dead in the eyes before running after them yelling.

“Miss!” She waved, “Miss, wait! We need to talk to you!”

Eurydice didn’t stop, instead seeming to speed up. The girl reached out and grabbed Nico’s wrist and he yelped as he was yanked from both sides.

“LET GO OF ME!” He yelled in Italian out of instinct, the subway almost cleared at this point and all of the remaining onlookers didn’t seem too keen in getting caught up in their business.

“Just great…” Eurydice grumbled as she turned towards The Owl, “I’m sorry Miss, I don’t speak Englis-“

“Don’t even try pulling that,” The Owl hissed at her, yanking Nico away from her and putting him behind her.

“Eurydice!” Nico shouted, feeling scared but it was washed out by anger and confusion, “What the hell is happening?!”

He tried to get past The Owl but was blocked by the hero in-between them.

“I think we would all like to know that,” Nobody said from behind him, “Isn’t that right, Rhodo?”

Chapter Text

“Pull down that mask, won’t you. I think we are both beyond that.”

Will continued to glare at Ananke, unsure what his next move should be. Right now, Ananke was flaunting her most deadly weapon and he was just waiting for her to pounce.

“What do you want?” He hissed again.

“Jeez, I heard you the first time,” She giggled, “And I think you know what I want. But enough about me!” She gave a sly grin, “Let’s talk about you.”

He sighed, rolling his eyes under his mask, “What’s there to even discuss?”

“Oh, I think a great many things,” She purred, “But first, what do I call you? I can’t just keep calling you ‘The Healer,’ that sounds fucking stupid.”

He huffed a laugh, “Hey, don’t act like I had a choice with it.”

“Oh?” She grinned, “Was that a laugh from the Silent Healer?”

“’Silent Healer?’”

She shrugged, “Some of you healers from the Delphic Corp. are….let’s say recognizable, and considering you all have the same name it gets annoying to differentiate between each of you.” She sighed, “But uh, call me sentimental, but if we’re to talk to each other as people, I don’t think going by a ‘Healer’ title is going to work for me.”

Will thought for a moment. ‘What was he doing? He should be giving some sort of SOS signal! But…he had to admit…someone actually going through the effort to ask him things like his name was…nice. He liked it. It made him feel human.

‘So, what if he indulges a bit? What if he enjoyed being spoken too as a person?’

“Any suggestions on what you want to call me?” He asked her.

She pondered, “Well…with that light of yours…How about Lux?”

“Is that Latin?”

She nodded, then giggled at the look on his face, “Don’t act surprised! My boyfriend speaks fluent Latin,” She shrugged, “Got to pick up on something, am I right?”

He nodded, “So…Lux then?”

“Well, we just have to give you a surname!” She smiled wide, “I mean, we’re friends now- “

“Friends is pushing it.”

She ignored him, “If I get pissed at you, I want to be able to use your full name!”

He rolled his eyes, “This is so pointless. If you aren’t going to say anything useful then why are we even talking?”

“Simple,” She smiled deviously, “Because I’m the first person to actually talk to you on a personal level,” I grimaced, “Face it, those heroes don’t see you for your talent, don’t see what you can do.

That light has been within you all along,” She tilted her head, “So why has it only appeared now? I mean, if you had some sort of strength or invincibility I’m sure the heroes would actually bother to know your name-“

“They do know my name- “

“They know your power, Lux. Your utility. At least they thought they did…but now,” She giggled, “Now, you can use your little powers to show those heroes just what they’ve been missing out on.”

“But…” He hesitated...wondering…pondering…thinking.

“You don’t think they deserve it. They don’t deserve you or your gifts. Don’t think I don’t know how they treat their heroes at their agencies,” She tossed her head back, “If I were in your position, I’d just defect.”

Will’s eyes widened, “So that’s your plan?! Turn me against the heroes?! Become a- a- “

“Lux…I pity you, I truly do,” She seemed sincere, “Do you seriously think they would treat you better because of your new powers? Why didn’t they treat you like that in the first place? Why don't they respect you? Why do they exploit you? Why do they feel like they don't need you?”

He was about to say something but stopped. Why did Ananke have a point? Will knew she was probably just trying to manipulate him. That was her power for God’s sake.

But if she wanted him to wholeheartedly believe her…Why wasn’t she using her charmspeak? Why did he believe what she was saying? How did she know all of these things about him?

‘Is she right?’

Will was conflicted. Sure, the heroes themselves never mistreated him and from what he could tell, most of the mentors genuinely cared about what they were teaching…

But he could also admit that they took him for granted. They had stuffed him into a box and forced him to stay. They never respected him. They saw him as fragile. Even if he believed his father loves him, Apollo still exploited him. Over worked him. 

Will looked back at himself from High School. How he tried to balance all his course work, plus extra classes so he could get into a good college, all while being expected to juggle a career in keeping idiot heroes alive. He was even paid very well for it, even if he didn't really need the cash, it would have been nice to have at least.

He looked at the rough material of his costume. If was a cloak, that was all he was given when he signed up to become a hero. No wonder Ananke stabbed him so easily, he had practically no protection. The cloak was a sensory nightmare as well, accompanied by a cheap mask that vaguely resembled a plague doctor. It was stuffy and covered only the top half of his face. His mask plus the cloak made it a nightmare to see.

These were all things Will had known. These were things he was aware of, so why was it only bothering him now? Why did he never speak up about it before?

Was it because he knew they wouldn't listen? Wouldn't take him seriously? 

Was what was happening now a sign from the heavens that he deserved better then this? Deserved better then to be a healer? Sure…he wanted to help people, but should he destroy himself to do that? Should he endure constantly putting his life on the line for people that didn't even acknowledge him?

He looked at Ananke. He saw how she behaved when she was most vulnerable. Saw, that she was still human. Under all of the evil schemes and terror…Ananke was just like him. She had hopes and dreams too. She was a person, a person just like all of the people he was saving. How many other people like her had hopes and dreams, yet made the wrong choice?

What if the move heroic move he could make, was to help the bad guy?

“You’re…”

“You don’t have to say anything,” She whispered, “Just know that…you deserve more.”

He was the one to arrest Ananke. He was the one to detain her. Not Astera. So why wasn’t he getting swarmed by the media? Why wasn’t he the one getting the praise.

What purpose is there for Will Solace if he can’t even get a simple pat on the back?

And tonight…He had almost died. It only began to sink in now but…he had been stabbed. He was bleeding out on a rooftop, and nobody came to rescue him.

He needed a hero, but he was alone. He needed a hero, and he was abandoned.

He was a hero…yet he would never be recognized as one. He would always be someone else’s healer.

And as much as he loved Thalia…she didn’t understand what it was like. He wasn’t born with some flashy lightning powers.

He was born to help others, yet they never helped him.

What was the point of helping others, if they never bothered to help him.

He heard the sirens of the Detainment Crew and he reached into his pocket, taking out what he was looking for.

“What are you doing?” Ananke whispered to him.

“I’m… I’m doing something I should have done a long time ago.”

He took out Ananke's knife.

By the time the Detainment Crew came he had already come up for an excuse for Ananke’s absence, being that she charmspoke to him and escaped.

By the time he was reprimanded and back at his bedroom in the penthouse of Delphi Corp, Will found himself sitting at his desk. While fiddling with a piece of paper with a phone number on it, Will Solace had begun to think, and that was a dangerous thing. 

Chapter Text

Nico froze, staring at Eurydice before turning to Nobody.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” He whispered, not daring to close his eyes as the man in the owl mask came closer.

“Nobody- What’s happening?” The Owl frowned in confusion at the retro-hero, “She can’t be-”

“Odysseus, are you kidding me?” Eurydice was furious, “What the hell are you plotting, sharing my identity?!"

“But- but Rhodo disappeared,” Nico whispered, “after the storming of Erebus in District 13-”

“She disappeared alright,” The man, Odysseus muttered, “Ran away, resulting in us failing the mission.”

“We failed the second one of the twins shot and killed Haberlea by ‘mistake,’” Eurydice spat, “You know better than to assume that I would leave my station.”

“Wait-” Nico stammered in disbelief, “You- You’re actually- You're Rhodo?”

Nico remembered scouring the internet, looking for everything he could find, news articles, interviews, clips, anything he could find relating to Rhodo. She was his idol. Eurydice knew this...she knew how much he looked up to Rhodo...And she- she knew all along…

“Nico-” Eurydice reached out to him, but the Owl kept him behind her back, Eurydice flinched, “Nico, you weren’t meant to find out like this-”

Nico said nothing, his thoughts fighting each other for clarity. He wanted to find a hole and just live in it for the rest of his life, writing pointless poetry about this entire situation.

“If you would like,” Odysseus piped up, “We can go somewhere and discuss this more...privately.”

“What is there to discuss?” Eurydice hissed again, directing all of her anger to Odysseus, “You’ve already got it in your head that I’m some sort of traitor when in reality, you know exactly, what happened.”

Odysseus sighed, “I just think Jason and the others have a right to be in this conversation.”

Hearing him say that, Eurydice backed down, “I can see what you mean but-“ she sighed, “How do I know this isn’t a trap?”

The Owl stiffened, “How dare you assume that of my mentor!”

Odysseus chuckled, “Not like it would be the first time I betrayed someone’s trust like that, Annabeth,” He took off his mask, showing his face. He had tanned skin and many small scars littering his face. His eyes constantly looked like he was plotting something and his hair was pulled back into a low ponytail so you could always see his eyes. 

The Owl, Annabeth, stood down, her lips forming a thin line at her real name being spoken.

Nico hadn’t moved this entire time. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to react? He was in a room full of superheroes…one of them being someone he had known all his life. 

What was he supposed to do? Supposed to say?

Suddenly, there was a crash from further down the subway tracks.

“What was that?” Nico breathed, eyes widening, “Didn’t you say something about an unidentified villain?!”

“I thought you said Percy had it under control?” Odysseus quickly put his mask back on, looking down the tracks where the shadows made it look like an endless void of darkness.

“He did,” The Owl stepped back, “Something…something is wrong…”

There was an unholy shriek, the kind of which Nico had never heard before. One that he thought would be similar to that of a banshee if he ever had met one.

Eurydice’s eyes widened as she looked over to Odysseus.

“We need to get out…” She whispered, and then shouting it, grabbing at Nico, “OUT! EVERYONE OUT!” 

An arrow shot past the group and hit the ceiling, causing the roof to collapse over the staircase.

“The elevator!” Odysseus yelled, “The elevator might still be in service!”

“We can’t leave Percy!” Annabeth yelled, “We need to go and check on him!”

“We can’t stay here! That thing will kill us!” Eurydice yelled, trying to tug Nico closer to her. 

Nico was hesitating on whether he should go with her, that was until two silver tendrils, in the shape of bows, appeared in front of him and started pulling him into the subway. Every time he tried to reach out to grab…grab something, another bow would shoot forward and block him. He would do this again and again and Eurydice would try to grab and grab for him.

But it didn’t matter. He kept getting pulled back and he was just tiring himself out at this point. It was futile anyway. He tried yelling, he tried struggling…but what point was there? Some of the best heroes to have ever graced this city couldn’t even save him.

He still tried to struggle; it was human instinct. He couldn’t give up.

“Help me!” Nico tried to scream one last time, his voice going horse, “Help me ple-“ He felt his mouth getting covered by some sort of claw. Eyes widening, Nico looked up.

It was some sort of…of beast. The likes of which he had never seen before. How could something like that even be created? Let alone survive. It had skin as dark as night, with pale dots flecked upon it, almost like stars. It was hunched over, as if it was carrying the weight of the world on its back.

Nico studied the monsters face, terrified. It had some sort of…of metal band atop its head that looked…almost angelic. The band had melded into its scalp, adorning it permanently with a moon pattern.

“What-“ Nico breathed, “What are you?” 

The beast sniffed him and screeched, throwing him against the wall of the subway tunnel. Nico yelled out in pain as he felt himself get slammed against the tunnel.

The creature breathed heavily, seemingly saying something Nico couldn’t quite make out. He tried to crawl out to the tunnel entrance…maybe he could squeeze past those bows…

The monster saw where he was looking and screeched, reaching forward and summoning a bow. Pulling back the string and gripping the arrow, Nico let out a cry as it shot the arrow towards the ceiling, sealing the entrance completely, the only viable way Nico could escape was if he made his way through the subway tunnel…but how long would that take? And the monster still needed to be dealt with.

The creature turned back to him, for the first time, Nico noticed that the monster looked like it had the skeletal frame of a person…but it looked bent and twisted. Every time it would move, Nico could hear a sickening snap, crackle and pop and he only just realised were its bones, snapping from being deformed and maimed in such a way.

“Bianca,” Nico thought he heard the monster breath, “You aren’t Bianca…”

“I- I’m- I don’t know who that is?!” Nico yelled, panicked.

The monster hissed, not liking that answer as it picked Nico up again and slammed him into the wall again, this time pinning him under its hand. Its face came closer to him. Nico could feel it breathing on him. The sound of the monsters breath was raspy, as if it was breathing through a flap.

“You…look like her,” It hissed, “But you are…a man.”

He didn’t dare move from where he was, didn’t dare struggle as the beast made an arrow materialize in thin air and slammed it into his shoulder. He yelled out, anticipating a pain that never came. It felt more like a prick then anything as the monster dropped him to the ground. He could feel his ankle bend at an unnatural angle before he hit the ground, crying out.

“Run.”

Nico didn’t wait as he bolted down the subway tracks, his ankle screaming in agony. 

Further into the darkness he went, where the red brick exposed on the subway walls was slowly enveloped by shadow. He was trying to run but it was almost impossible without anything to support himself with, and he wasn’t sure how close the monster was behind him.

                                        Ω

He eventually made his way to an opening. How long had he been running? He wasn’t sure. Looking around the almost identical subway station, Nico tried to find the exit.

“Ho bisogno di uscire ho bisogno di uscire-“ he muttered, chanting it, as if he could manifest getting out by repeating those two words over and over again.

“Hey!” Nico turned, seeing a boy with dark black hair and sea green eyes call out to him from the side of the tracks, “This way! We might be able to hop on the subway on District 13’s line-“

“Who are you?!” he frantically asked the boy shuffling towards him.

“There’s no time for introductions” He stressed and panicked, “We need to get out of here!”

Nico nodded, looking around, his eyes landing on a large pile of rubble.

“That monster wrecked this subways exit tunnel too?!”

The boy nodded, “I might be able to get us out if we run into the same problem the next district over.”

“Isn’t there supposed to be heroes down-“ 

Nico heard a screech that was way too familiar for his liking. With widened eyes, he turned to the boy beside him.

The boy looked serious, “We have to go.” He grabbed Nico’s wrist and started running down the track towards the direction of the next subway. Nico was trying his best to not get dragged but with his ankle, he found it difficult to keep up. After a good few yelps of pain the boy turned to him.

“You’re hurt,” he panted, still having a death grip around Nico’s wrist.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Nico hissed, his lungs giving him a sharp pain every time he inhaled.

“Come on, I’ll carry you.”

“What?” Nico couldn’t get another word in before he was lifted over this boys shoulder like this boy was some sort of fire fighter. He thought about protesting but decided against it. He was only slowing them down and Nico was luck the boy didn’t just leave him there.

They were silent for the next sprint, the only thing they could hear were their steps and their panting, followed by grunts from both of the two due to Nico getting jostled around.

Up until District 3, it was a mad dash. There was shouting, yelling, screeching. It was pure chaos.

Up until District 3, it was panic.

Up until District 3, the monster was close behind them.

Up until District 3, the tunnel was still intact.

The boy slammed Nico down at the District 3 subway station and turned to the monster, taking a pen out of his jacket pocket.

“It’s a pen?!” Nico yelled at him confused before the boy took off the cap of it and a thin shard of metal popped out that reminded Nico of those light saber toys he saw when he went into the toy stores to get Mythomagic card's. It was only then that Nico realized who he was yelling at.

It was Brine, the number one hero in recent years. Being a leading force in taking down villains such as Saturn and Terra.

Before Nico could get his next word out, the wall of the subway cracked, water leaking out of it.

The monster came running down the hallway, screeching and slamming it

’s hands against the walls, bricks going flying out of the sides.

That was all Nico could see before his vision was overtaken by the ocean.

Chapter Text

This is a notice that I am OFFICIALLY rewriting this fic as of today. I have the prologue up now and hope to release the first chapter this week.

Hopefully you all don't hate me for abandoning this fic but I've gone through my writing character arc. I'm better now, I promise.

See the new fic here!