Demigod in Gotham

83) Nico's Solitude

A/N: it be long

Nico knew something was wrong the second he banished Slade to the underworld. His adrenalin disappeared and everything came crashing down on him. The pain he had felt in his leg earlier had spread up his body, feeling like it was trying to inch closer to his chest. Nico was frozen, sword still clutched in his hand with a death grip, for a long moment as his brain caught up with everything his body was feeling, and then the sword fell. He didn't remember letting it go. And then the ground seemed to be moving closer until strong arms wrapped around him and he realized that he had actually been falling.

He felt his mask being removed from his face and heard his name being spoken, but he couldn't focus enough to figure out what was happening. He felt nectar being pouring into his mouth, but he knew it wouldn't do much. When you've been injured enough, you get pretty good at knowing your limit. Turns out, he had passed it a while ago.

Nico let his head fall to the side slightly, staring at the faces looking down at him. His vision was unfocused and hazy, but eventually he was able to zero in on Bruce. "Hey dad."

He couldn't fully understand what Bruce had said back. His voice was muffled by the sound of his heart in his ears and he was well past the point of being able to lip read. He knew that Bruce was trying to reassure him that he'd be okay and, even though he knew it wouldn't change a thing, he still kind of wished he could hear Bruce's voice better.

He brought a hand up to his ear, unmuting himself as he used all his focus to think coherently. "Oracle."

Babs' voice was a lot clearer to him, probably because it was spoken directly into his ear. "I'm here Demo."

Nico internally smiled at the name. It was something Cass had taken to calling him after they learned his full name. He had told the team to call him it because he wanted to feel close to them and if they couldn't call him Nico, then Demo was a close second. "Call..." he started to say before having to stop. He had to think about swallowing and he had working in the infirmary long enough to know that that was never a good sign. "Call Riptide. Tell him to get Mrs. O and get here with Surgeon."

"Of course."

Nico clicked the comm again to mute himself, still aware enough to know that he didn't want the entire group to hear him dying in live time. He let his arm fall after completing his task, hating how tiring it actually was to accomplish. He felt someone grab the hand and smiled lightly at the contact.

"I don't think the nectar is gonna work this time," he whispered, not fully meaning to say it out loud, but a little glad he did. He knew that Percy and Will would be there soon, but it didn't change the fact that he didn't like his odds.

He heard someone sniff and shifted his eyes to land on Dick who was by his head next to Bruce. He felt his eldest brother grab his should in comfort, but he didn't know who it comforted more. "Of course it will Neeks. You're gonna be okay."

Nico heard Jason open a compartment on his belt and knew what he was reaching for. He shook his head lightly before shifting to look at him. "I've taken too much today. I could..." It was becoming harder to find the words. He forced himself to swallow again, the action becoming progressively harder. "I'll burn up."

"We have to—" Jason stared to say. "We can't just not try anything. We have to do something."

Nico could no longer focus enough to actually see their faces, so he just returned to looking at the dark sky. "Sunshine will be here soon."

The demigod felt Damian grab his hand tighter before quietly saying, "He is, so you better stay awake until he gets here, okay?"

Nico gave a small nod, smiling lightly because even though the reason was bad, that was the most 'his age' Damian had ever sounded.