New York (Nico and the Avengers)

13. A long awaited meeting

Nico's POV

"What's up with the captain?" I ask Peter as we do a puzzle.  I've been back here for a whole day and I only saw him three times.

"What do you mean?"

"He's been acting strange and vanishing all the time.  He's also really distracted."

"Oh, yeah his old friend showed up and-"

"Zip it!" Stark says with his hand over Peter's mouth.

"Now I want to know," I say because I am curious and I have nothing better to do.  Puzzles can be fun but I want to move.  Besides, if I'm going to stay still I should read up more on what I can do, that's what I should be doing now.

"I'll make you a deal," he says and I groan because everyone knows making a deal goes horribly wrong for the children of the gods.

"What?"

"You tell me the truth about how you left and I'll tell you what's going on."

I want to take the deal, but I can't.  Zeus made it very clear yesterday what would happen if I expose our world and I can't die now.  "I told you, I climbed down!"

"Tony, he's not going to tell you," Romanoff says and all three of us jump because we hadn't heard her enter.

"Why not?" Stark asks like a small child.

"Whatever it is, he's scared to talk about it.  I'll offer you a different deal though."

"What?"

"We'll tell you, and show you, if you promise no escape attempts for a week."

I can't promise that.  "I'll promise to not escape for the rest of the week," I say because apparently too much shadow travel can kill you and I'm not needed quite yet.

"Deal," Stark says.

"You idiot." Romanoff says.

"Why?"

"Because it's Friday," Barton says as he enters with popcorn.

"...oops."

"So, you guys need to uphold your end of the bargain."

"So you're telling me there's two people from WWII?"

"Yep,"

"And both of them are in this tower."

"Technically there's more than two but there the only young ones left."

Wow, yet another person out of time.  I wonder if Kronos has some sort of connection with this tower, maybe something about Stark's...starkness.  I don't know how else to describe it, his...presence is the best word I guess.  Anyways "I want to go see him."

"Why?"

"He's someone new."

"You're really that bored?"

"You're the people who kidnapped me twice."

"I can't argue with that, but you're in Avengers tower, there is always something to do here."

"Just because there's something to do doesn't mean it is fun." I point out.  "But we're getting off topic, I want to meet this Bucky."

"Okay, but I should warn you he doesn't seem to recognize anyone."

"I kinda got that when you said he doesn't recognize his best friend.  Besides, why would he recognize me?"

"Considering he's involved with HYDRA we wanted to take precautions," Romanoff says but that doesn't seem true.  I'd accept that, if I wasn't so used to the reactions of people who are scared of my connections.  It seems she thinks I'm part of this hydra.  I wonder, which version do they base themselves on, the one with a bunch of equal heads or the one with an immortal head?  The immortal head one is wrong, but potentially interesting.  Maybe they mixed up the stories of Medusa and a hydra to get that idea.  Or maybe they wanted to scare kids away from looking under rocks, don't do it or you might find the head.  That seems reasonable, but there are so many other stories about why you should or shouldn't look under rocks that I doubt that.