How wonderful. He just wanted breakfast from McDonald's which is a bonus to buying happy meals for the kids. Why did he have to be ambushed by 2 hellhounds and an empousa? Just great.
Nico ran through the streets of New York, looking back every once in a while just to see the group of monsters slowly gaining on him. "I just wanted a peaceful day. Why did I think the Fates were gonna let me have one?" He grumbled under his breath.
What did he expect? He was a demigod. There's no such thing as a peaceful day.
He was slowly heading towards busier streets so he couldn't go any farther. He didn't want to be on the news and he didn't want to accidentally murder a mortal so a less crowded, almost deserted street would do.
He sighed and unsheathed his Stygian Iron sword that was strapped to his back. "Let's just get this over with."
The team sent him on another grocery journey. He really couldn't protest since one of them had a small mission while the three of them had small projects and one of them was off-world. He was the only one with free time. Free time that wasn't project-based anyways.
Steve was walking the streets of New York, wearing civilian clothing although not very concealing his face. Around 5 people have already come up to him asking for a 'selfie'? He'll have to ask Tony what that means. He had the concept of pictures but slang was a weak point for him.
He went to the less crowded streets of NYC, already having bought the groceries, and was now taking a stroll, hoping to be spotted by fewer paparazzi when he saw a black-haired boy holding a crowbar menacingly towards a pair of Dobermans and an inhumanely pretty teenage girl.
Nico groaned, if a mortal from PETA saw what he was doing, he was probably screwed. The hellhounds snarled at him while the empousa walked up to him slowly, only stopping when he held his sword higher. "Nico Di Angelo." Full name. Not a good sign. "You'll make a good meal." She smiled, revealing inhumanely sharp fangs.
"I am the son of Hades. You do not scare me." He said, assuming a casual fighting stance, ready in case they attack. "You really should be scared, pretty boy." She crooned, making him cringe. Empousa tactics worked terribly on homosexuals.
It still worked of course, but the less attraction the target has to girls, the better results for the demigod in question come out.
She scowled, realizing her charmspeak wasn't working. "If you won't bend to my will, then I'll have to drink the blood from your corpse." She said, immediately launching herself at Nico.
He dodged to the side, avoiding her fangs. He did not want to turn into a dried-up pale raisin, no thank you. The hellhounds slowly circled him. The empousa kept on launching herself at him which he kept avoiding. The hellhounds were snapping at his ankles but for some reason, weren't attacking. Was it because he was the son of Hades? The thought momentarily distracted him.
Bad move.
The empousa, seeing this small chance, launched at him, successfully grabbing his shoulders. Nico, taken aback, crashed into the sidewalk. "Gods!" He exclaimed. "They won't help you son of Hades." She said sweetly. Nico gave a small grin, confusing the empousa. "They won't. But my sword will." He said, tilting his sword ever so slightly that it touched the empousa and cut her with its extremely sharp edge.
Now to those who don't know, Stygian Iron can only be wielded safely by children of Hades. If anyone else touches it, their soul gets absorbed into the blade.
The empousa shrieked, cursing Nico, and turned into a pile of black and gold ashes. Not the normal gold dust it turns into when a monster is defeated. A small effect of Stygian Iron.
Nico stood up immediately, not forgetting about the hellhounds. The pair of hellhounds snarled before disappearing. "Huh, so they were just illusions..." He said, lowering his sword slightly.
With empousai being followers of Hecate, they have the ability to manipulate the Mist. The hellhounds were an example of that.
"Hey kid, are you okay?" Asked a man's voice after a few seconds of silence, placing a hand on his shoulder. In a panic, Nico turned around, sword in hand not knowing if the thing behind him was friend or foe, being careful not to accidentally hit it with his sword in case it was a mortal. His eyes widened.
When Steve saw the girl suddenly launch herself at the boy, he was compelled to run to him and help but something in his mind said to wait it out. He decided to listen to that part of his brain.
The girl kept lunging at the boy while he kept dodging. He didn't know why but he was rooting silently for the boy. It just seemed right.
To him, it all went downhill when he stopped and stayed still for a second. The moment that happened, the girl jumped at him and grabbed him harshly by the shoulders. The momentum knocked them both down. Steve froze for a few seconds.
He unfroze when he heard a girl shriek. He looked over at the boy and the girl but the girl was just, gone. He ran over to the boy, who was now facing down the two Dobermans. The pair of dogs launched themselves at him but just disappeared into thin air. He'd allow himself just this once.
"What the fuck?" He said to himself, barely audible. He was standing a few steps away from the boy. He reached out and lightly touched this shoulder saying, "Hey kid, are you okay?". The boy jumped slightly, turned around in a fighter's stance, glare and all when his face turned into one of shock.
"Steve?" Said Nico, shocked. He looked a lot like what Steve drew what he thought they'd look like as adults. Just more muscular and tall.
Steve internally groaned. "Yeah, I'm Captain America, look, you may be a kid but you just murdered a girl and for some reason, two dogs so I'm gonna have to turn you in." He said, grabbing Nico's arm tightly.
"Ow! Gods, you're almost as strong as Hercules with that grip, holy Hera." Nico exclaimed, making Steve loosen his hold a bit but tightening it almost immediately. The kid looked familiar but there was no way it was him. Nico's dead. The references were familiar as well, stupid jokes the three of them used to say.
"Steve, where on Earth are you taking me?" Nico said, still struggling, sword in hand. "To the authorities kid. By the way, why do you keep calling me Steve?" Nico raised an eyebrow. "Didn't know you became dumb when you got all tall and muscly." He mumbled.
"Hey, I heard that." Nico smirked. "Sure ya did. Hey, when did you get so muscly by the way?"
"Around 1943 why?" He was getting suspicious of him. "Wait, so you're saying you were 20 when you turned into a blonde Hercules." Steve shrugged. "I guess?" They were nearing the police station. Nico just gave a small grin, carefully took off his aviator jacket, carefully strapped on his sword, and made a mad dash for it.
Steve suddenly realized that the jacket sleeve he was holding was just a jacket. It only took him 2 seconds but in those few seconds, Nico managed to disappear. "Crap."
Nico kept running, making sure most of his stuff was present. He was very attached to his jacket but it was better than being convicted. "Why didn't Steve recognize me? I mean, I almost look the same as I did when I was 13." He said aloud to himself, once again on less crowded streets.
"Hey, do you know Captain America?" He asked a random teenager walking the streets. Of course, he wouldn't normally do this but he needed answers. "Dude, have you been living under a rock? He's part of the Avengers! The guy's in a fucking museum."
"Can I ask where the museum is?" The teenager nodded. "Ask anyone where the Smithsonian museum is. Sorry but I don't memorize how to get there." Nico shook his head. "No worries, I know where it is." He thanked them and went on his way.
Not before getting McDonald's of course. He's been denied breakfast earlier, he won't be denied food again.
"Finally here." He said, biting into the last of his burger. He visited the place a lot, although he never entered. He would just lurk around a lot. He bought a ticket and entered not before asking a random person, "Sorry, it's my first time here. Where's the Captain America exhibit?"
The person he asked pointed him to a side entrance, decorated with very patriotic American flags, and went on their way to explore the museum. Nico entered and was slightly surprised at the dimly lit room. He was expecting blaring colors of red, white, and blue. He appreciated whoever decided to dim the lights.
He walked around the exhibit, taking in what information his brain could comprehend. While looking at some of the pictures of Pre-serum Steve, the one he knew, he smirked. "Still as scrawny as ever." He said to himself softly. It was a long-time running joke within their old group. Gods, he missed being in that old group.
He reached the section where they showcased the Howling Commandos, mannequins wearing their uniforms. Nico looked at it and smiled softly. "So Bucky and Stevie made it huh." He mumbled. He read the plaque beside the exhibit.
"The Howling Commandos was a team established by Captain Rogers to defeat HYDRA." That part of the plaque confused him. He was pretty sure that Steve was a plain mortal. Hiding his confusion in the meantime, he read on. "Bla bla bla, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes was one of the only members of the Howling Commandos to die during a mission..." He trailed off. Did Bucky die? Nico rubbed his eyes before reading the sentence again.
"What..." Nico stood there, frozen. He only moved again when somebody bumped into him. "Sorry." The guy mumbled. Nico, almost in a daze, walked on. He reached the exhibit showcasing Pre-serum Steve and Post-serum Steve, the screen fading between the two, and he just lurked there for a while.
After a few minutes of collecting himself, he stopped lurking, left the exhibit, and exited the Smithsonian. There were bits of information that he gathered that he was now trying to process.
So Steve got stuck in ice, stayed alive in the ice for 70 years, and was now spat out into modern times. Currently, he's been working with the Avengers, whoever they are, and has protected the world, specifically Manhattan, from an alien assault.
I mean, he has transported the Athena Parthenos halfway across the world. It's kind of believable that he didn't see a giant alien attack. He was knocked out for a good quarter of the journey back to Long Island.
Nico was walking aimlessly around New York, he only snapped back to his senses when he bumped into someone. "Sorry." He mumbled.
He looked up when the person grabbed him by the shoulders and internally groaned. Wasn't Steve gonna leave him alone?
"Look Stevie," Steve froze at the familiar nickname. "I didn't expect you to be alive but here we are and I want to just say that whatever you saw me doing on the street was something you should just ignore and-" Steve cut him off by shoving something leathery into his arms
"I was just gonna say you forgot your jacket, even though it's not cold. You just went off on a tangent there." He said, slowly letting go of his shoulders. "Still as chivalrous as ever huh Stevie?" He teased, tying the jacket around his waist.
If Steve didn't remember him by looks alone or didn't believe it was him, well, he was gonna have to decide whether to keep his friend in the dark or not.
"Hey, do you mind if I bring you back to where I live? I know I'm supposed to turn you in, to the proper authorities but-"
"Aren't you technically a "proper authority"?" Steve paused, letting the noises of the city overwhelm their brief conversation for a bit before letting out a small laugh. "I guess I am, but I'm not allowed to detain kids. Back to my question earlier, do you or do you not mind coming back to where I live?"
"I'd rather not, honestly." Steve nodded in understanding. Nico knew, from reading plaques at the Smithsonian and asking a few more random strangers, that he takes up residence at the Avengers tower, which looked like a gigantic glass llama smack dab in the middle of Manhattan.
"Actually, can we talk in the nearby park? If it's alright." Steve nodded. He probably had a million questions in his mind, which he did, so he just shot his shot. "Any questions Stevie?"
"A fey." Nico raised an eyebrow. "Why do you keep calling me Stevie?" Nico gave a small smile. "Isn't that your name?" Steve gave a small smile. "I guess, it's just that I had a few friends back in the day, jeez I sound old, that used to call me that."
Nico sighed to himself. He wanted to smack Steve upside the head and tease him for not recognizing an old friend. Too bad he couldn't. He didn't wanna shock Steve with sudden amounts of information.
"Any other questions?" Was the reaction he opted for instead. Though many violent reactions were going through his mind. Like hitting Steve on the head repeatedly, very hard, to try and get him to remember. And that's one of the milder ones.
"Yeah, why do you have a crowbar slung across your back?" Nico shrugged, opting to say the truth. "For protection." Steve just nodded.
"Another question, during your tangent." Nico sweat dropped. He completely forgot what he was saying and was nervous he said stupid shit he wasn't supposed to say.
"Look, I'm nervous and stuff just slipped out and-" Steve stopped him midway. "Okay, I get it. I used to be like that." Nico just nodded, looking straight ahead. Steve chuckled at Nico who was nervous about his tangent earlier.
"Any more questions?" Nico said after a few minutes. Steve nodded. "Second to last, do you like Greek mythology?" Nico sweat dropped. Just a bit though unlike earlier.
"Yeah. I'm kind of a nerd about it. You probably noticed from the references earlier." Steve gave a small smile and nodded. Nico internally sighed. That's one bullet dodged. "Okay, last question, do I know you from somewhere?"
Nico wanted to hit his head against a wall. Now, he was internally debating keeping this goose chase going, evading the question of how he's still alive and looked as old as he left their apartment, or telling the truth, putting Steve in danger, and potentially exposing the entirety of his crazy life. The latter option also had an option of smiting him, which he'd like to avoid. According to the souls of demigods who broke the rules, it hurts.
So obviously, he went for the safer option. "Maybe we passed each other on the street or even saw each other in a restaurant." He was gonna keep his old friend safe for a little while longer. And his ass from being smitten.
"Okay, well, it's been nice walking with you but I got to go home now. My team's probably worried but if you don't mind, could we meet up here again next week? It's fun having someone to talk to that isn't, well..." He trailed off, stopping. Nico stopped with him, trying to suppress a small amount of laughter about to escape.
"Stress-inducing? Mischievous? Annoying?" Steve cut him off. "Famous. And how many insults are you gonna keep coming up with?" Nico grinned evilly. "I can keep going." Steve let out a small laugh.
"How about when we meet up next week, you tell me how many you came up with?" Nico nodded. "The park we're at? Well, supposed to be at?" Nico said, pointing at the entrance to the park, only a few feet away.
"Yeah. That one at 12? Same day?" Nico nodded again at Steve's proposal.
Without another word to each other, they left for their destination. No goodbyes were being exchanged since they were gonna see each other again.
Word count: 2780
It's been consistent for a while yay :D