Ghost King Meets Batman

Nico & Diana

[Edited October 13, 2023]

The boys went inside and settled down on the couch. The others were arguing about what movies to watch while Nico watched on with carefully disguised amusement. He didn't recognize most of the names of the different movies they mentioned, and wouldn't dare try to hazard a guess as to what they were about, even with the vague plot points the boys seemed to be factoring into their decisions. The others had learned quickly not to ask his opinion on things that have to do with modern pop culture as it usually led to long explanations and uncomfortable questions. It seemed that they had all decided to bypass him in their decision-making process altogether, which was fine by Nico. 

Eventually, they all decided that it had been a while since they had watched Disney's Hercules. If they had known just who they had in their presence, they probably wouldn't have dared breathe the name of the animation, much less suggest that they all spend the limited free time they all had to watch it. Had Nico known what he was in for, he may have refused to see it entirely. He had no idea what he was in for when they loaded the disc and pressed play.

While the previews were playing, Jason and Dick grabbed popcorn and other snacks. Everyone else took a spot on the couch, having little arguments about who got there first. Nico found a spot on the edge of the group in an armchair by himself so that none of the others would feel obligated to sit with him. It also kept him far out of reach of any accidental touches that he'd much rather avoid. Dick laid out all the snacks while the rest of the boys relaxed and watched.

They seemed so comfortable together and it made Nico wish that he could have had that sort of a relationship with Bianca before she had died. When they were young, Bianca had always taken care of him, acting more like a mother than a sister. They had never gotten the chance to just be siblings and it was times like these that he wondered what he had missed out on. He felt guilty thinking about it, but sometimes he felt like he had spent most of his life as an only child. There was no one else out there in the world who understood so entirely what it was like to be him, and it was lonely.

As the movie kept going, Nico got increasingly agitated. He had begun to realize that there was nothing accurate about the film except that the hero was a guy named Hercules. At one point in the movie (the part where Hades first appears). Nico got really angry. It was all Nico could do to sit still and not scream at the TV. He wasn't doing so great at the sitting still portion. He didn't have the patience for long films or anything that required him to pay attention to the same thing for a long period of time. He decided that he wasn't that big of a fan of movies.

The boys either must've seen his reaction or they too got bored of the movie because Dick turned it off before it was finished and they all decided to go play hide and seek instead to 'get out their excess energy' and the sugar from the snacks. It seemed kind of juvenile to Nico, but the other boys seemed excited so Nico went along with it. He felt a little self-conscious as the roles were assigned. Aren't we a little old for this?

Richard was 'it' first and was going to give them all two minutes to hide. For some reason, the boys felt the need to ban the vents and the chandelier as hiding places. The son of Hades couldn't tell if they were joking or not. The vents seemed far too small to fit an entire person and the chandelier definitely should have been out of reach. Then again, he had learned that Dick had been an acrobat so maybe he could reach the chandelier somehow? In any case,  he had never considered them as potential havens so he would have no problem following the rules.

Even before the countdown started, Nico knew exactly where he would hide. As Dick counted, Nico snuck off to a hidden area he had found when looking for places to set up his pranks. The Wayne Manor had a safe room. There was a panel in his room behind his dresser that led to a small space that was just big enough to fit one full-grown adult. It was plenty spacious enough to fit a teen like Nico. Dick would never find him there. Well... not unless he already knew the secret room existed.