Death Angel

Chapter Nine

Nico picked at his blueberry pancakes. They were doused thoroughly in maple syrup, with a side of orange juice. Normally this would be an excellent breakfast ("You need to eat, Death the Kid. It is the most important meal of the day.") but Nico wasn't very hungry.

Just like before he fell asleep, the ghost king could almost hear his boyfriend shouting at him. No, wait, that was just Stark.

"We should totally have a movie day! I want to scare Steve again." The billionaire smirked at the blushing super soldier.

"It was only a few times," Rodgers-no, Steve, mumbled. "I just got a little confused."

Barton snickered. "That's an understatement." To Nico, he added, "Steve thought that The Ring was a documentary. Same with World War Z. And Paranormal Activity."

The son of Hades snorted into his breakfast. "Seriously?"

The archer nodded. "Yep. He still gets a little bit confused by movies and stuff like that."

Nico could relate. It was hard getting plucked out of your time period and smashed into another one. He (and Hazel) sometimes had to remind themselves that no matter how much the world changed, it was still home.

"I can understand that." Nico forced his tone to sound casual. "He's not the only one who's been knocked out of the past."

Romanoff leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

"Remember when I said that the gods made an oath after World War II?" They nodded. "Well, Percy, Jason, and Thalia are the only ones who were born after it. I was sent to a hotel that basically stops time, along with my s-sister. We stayed for what felt like a month, maybe a little longer. But when we came out..."

Stark raised an eyebrow. "So you and Capsicle are both old men, then?"

"Um, not really. My mind is my physical age. I'm pretty sure that it's the same with Ro-Steve."

"You said that you had a sister in the hotel with you," Romanoff asked. "What happened to her? Is she at one of those camps you mentioned?"

Nico gritted his teeth. "No. She isn't. My half sister is, but B-Bianca is not."

Steve didn't say anything. The man hadn't thought that anybody else was like him, but now he learned that not one but maybe three other people that both knew what it was like.

"Your half sister," he asked. "Is she like me-like us, too?"

"Hazel? Yes, but she, well, died. I brought her back to life out of the Underworld. She isn't a child of Hades, because she is the daughter of his Roman aspect, Pluto."

"You can bring people back to life?" Stark questioned eagerly.

Nico shook his head. "I can raise zombies and talk to ghosts, but the only way to truly bring somebody back is to find their soul in the Underworld. I only managed to save Hazel because she was a daughter of Pluto, and because of the fact that the wall between life and death was starting to thin."

"What do you mean, thin?" Banner frowned.

"It's... kind of hard to explain. Hades may be the god of the Underworld, but Thanatos, or Letus if you prefer Roman, is the actual god of death. So if he gets too preoccupied, or captured, then people will stop dying."

The doctor's eyes widened. "Is that what all of those medical miracles were a while back? People getting up and walking out of the hospital after their hearts stopped and they were transfered to a morgue?"

"That sounds about right." Nico nodded. He glanced around. "Where is Thor?"

"Still asleep, I think." Barton nibbled on an apple. "He usually wakes up pretty late, something about Asguardian sleep schedules."

"Enough about boring old Thor." Stark leaned towards Nico. "Tell me about your friends."

The ghost king blinked. "Um..."

"Like their names, favorite colors, what they like, stuff like that."

"Um. Okay, then. Why?"

"I just need to know, okay?"

"Fine." The son of Hades huffed. "Well, there's Percy. He's the son of Poseidon, and he loves blue food. His hair is black, and his eyes are bright green. Talks to horses and fish, and he has water powers.

"Annabeth Chase, his girlfriend. Daughter of Athena, so she has blonde hair and grey eyes. Super smart and good in a fight. It's impossible to break up her and Percy, they've been through Hell together.

"Jason Grace, son of Jupiter. He can control lightning and the winds, which basically means he can fly. He's really nice"-no matter how much I wanted to hate him-"and is friends with everybody.

"Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite-"

"Wait," Stark interrupted. "The Piper McLean? Tristan McLean's daughter?"

"Um, yes. She has charmspeak, so she could convince you to do anything that she wanted. Really good with that knife of hers, too.

"Leo Valdez, fire user and son of Hephaestus. I don't know him or his girlfriend Calypso too well, but we all thought that he died for a really long time.

"Thalia Grace, Jason's older sister. Lieutenant of Artemis, daughter of Zeus. Kind of punk-rock and she hates men. Scared of heights, but don't tell her that I said that.

"Frank Zhang, son of Mars and Praetor of New Rome. He can shapeshift into any animal that he wants, and is an excellent shot with a bow.

"Hazel Levesque, his girlfriend and my half sister. She can control precious metals and make tunnels. Oh, and she's one of Hecate's favorites, so she can manipulate the Mist.

"Reyna, Praetor of New Rome and daughter of Bellona. She's been blessed by Athena and is called Horse-Friend by the first Pegasus.

"Will Solace, son of Apollo"-Nico blushed slightly-"even though he's not the best at archery. Best healer at Camp Half-Blood. He's really... amazing."

Nico purposely left out a few other things about Will Solace.

"Cecil from the Hermes Cabin, very mischievous. Lou Ellen, daughter of Hecate and head counselor of her cabin. A few other people and that's it."

Nico finished as quickly as he could. That was maybe the most that he'd ever spoken to people that he mostly didn't know at one time. In fact, it probably was, at least after he found out about being a son of Hades and losing Bianca.

Stark crossed his arms. "I am very disappointed in the lack of hot girls in your group who aren't taken. Although maybe that Thalia girl..."

The billionaire nodded thoughtfully, and Nico's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

"No! She's basically my cousin, and she's forbidden by Artemis from ever falling in love with a man." Plus the fact that I don't like girls and am already in a relationship.

"What about that other chick, Lou Ellen?"

"No. I don't even know her that well anyways. Plus, we've been tying to set up her and Cecil for ages."

Stark groaned. "You're hopeless."

Barton sighed. "Leave the kid alone. He doesn't have to get a girlfriend if he doesn't want to."

"Plus, maybe he already has his eye on someone?" Steve suggested.

Romanoff allowed herself a small smile at the uncomfortable face that Nico was making. The Russian had seen how eager the boy was to finish after talking about Will, and noticed the blush on his cheeks. She was willing to bet that Nico swung the other way when it came to a relationship.

Perhaps she had misjudged the son of Hades.