PJO x Gotham Crossover

Is it a universal thing for gods to be super cryptic?

Nico's good, normal day was ruined already.
It had been a spectacular day so far, being woken up at 6 Am next to Will after a secret movie night, the Cocoa Puffs of course being included. Nico albeit very groggy, could not ask for anything more than that.

Breakfast at the mess hall had tasted really good too and Nico's eating habits were getting a lot better than they used to be. Everything was fine.

And then in the middle of a very interesting conversation he had with Will, about the new Demigod proof technology Leo was designing, Hades summoned Nico to the underworld.

The bright atmosphere and sunny weather was immediately replaced with gloomy halls and pale lit chambers, seconds after Nico had been engulfed by his father's shadows. In the middle of his conversation too. Poor Will.

Nico didn't bother looking up even as the scenery changed, for he knew his father was standing menacingly a few feet away. He had done this dance before. Hades would summon him to either attempt to 'bond with him' (which would include overseeing the fields of punishment or fishing in the river of Styx... For some reason) or to personally issue a quest for Nico. Judging from the tense atmosphere and dingier shadows, it was probably the latter.

Finally Nico raised his gaze, taking note of the aggravated expression on Hades face, and how the shadows seemed to cling even more to his looming figure. Hades looked troubled to put it mildly.

"Nico, have you heard of the Lazarus Pit?" Hades questioned. (For once in his life going straight to the point)

"Yes I have, Father" Nico fiddled with his silver skull ring as he answered, he knew the Lazarus Pit was a sore subject for Hades.

"Good, as you know, I've been incredibly busy these past years with everything going on"
Not busy enough to cancel his weekly date night with Persephone apparently, Nico shrugged internally.

"But it has recently come to my attention that the Lazarus Pit, is still being used and has been several times while I was busy" Hades continued, Nico could hear the slight amount of shame.

"Of course I've shut it down immediately, but there are still remnants of the Pit scattered across the world."
"Majority of these remnants have latched on to people who have used it..."

Hades paused, looking Nico straight in the eye.

"And I want you, to help eradicate the traces"

Nico tensed, the fidgeting of his ring stopping immediately as he analyzed his father's expression. If Nico didn't know any better, he'd say Hades looked almost... Guilty? Regretful maybe.

"Are you asking me to murder someone?"

The chamber fell deathly silent (pun not intended), not that there was much noise in the first place.

Hades nodded in remorse, as if the literal god of the underworld actually felt guilty for ordering a murder.

Nico sighed, this was not the news he wanted on a Sunday. He hadn't even had lunch yet and now his appetite had left him. (Just like Bianca- ehsjejejeje)
Not like he had much of a choice anyways, Hades would either force him or just send some creature of the underworld instead, which would just make Nico feel guilty for the target.

"Who?" Nico eventually asked.

"A man named Jason Todd" Nico recognised the name, he had seen him in ghost form close to the gates of the underworld, incredibly traumatized, as Nico recalled. Nico had been on the run during that time.

"He died at age fifteen, a few months before we had the whole ordeal with Mount Saint Helens eruption actually. He was then later resurrected by the Pit"

Nico sighed heavily, again. It wasn't that Nico had a big problem with killing, but he didn't exactly do it for fun either. And Jason Todd was a good person before he died, set to enter Elysium actually.

"And where is he now?" Nico asked, despite already being able to guess the answer.

"He currently resides in Gotham, where I want you to go"
"But I must warn you, there are other people with Pit remnants as well, although I'm not very fond of the idea of you facing them, so I will send someone else to deal with that" Hades paused, scanning Nico's expression briefly.

Nico just shrugged in response to his father's analysing, gesturing for Hades to continue.

"You'll leave as soon as possible, I'll set up a mortal bank account for you and take care of living situations"

"There are also a few other forms of remnants located in Gotham that I want you to destroy, mostly samples and vials"
So this was going to be a longer quest... Nico would guess a few months at the very least. His first thought was to bring Will but that probably wasn't a good idea. Nico would have to stick to IM and maybe the new techy-stuff Leo was making, to contact Will. Which he didn't really understand, but at least he wasn't the only one, some of the half-bloods at camp had been there since very young so they never got the opportunity to use Phones or other stuff either.

Hades cleared his throat awkwardly, going from staring Nico straight in the eye to looking anywhere else.

"Uh- you also won't be able to bring the Cocoa- I mean Cacodemons with you"

What.

He wasn't allowed to bring along his 'trauma babies' as Kayla had so wonderfully put it. This mission could quite possibly turn out to be months long and he was just supposed to leave them at camp. Was that even possible to do?
Since he'd gotten them, at least one or two of them followed him everywhere he went, sometimes even shrinking and hiding in his hair. Which Will had teased him way too much about.

"Excuse me?" Hades must have noticed the astonishment in his voice and dumbfounded expression. Sure, murder mission, that could be done. But leaving his Cocoa Puffs. Leaving the small creatures of terror created from Nico's trauma, that Will also sort of adopted because they were adorable in a creepy way. Unbelievable.

Hades looked almost uncomfortable now, standing less like a menacing figure and more awkwardly, as if he didn't just order Nico to go murder someone.

"You'll figure it out... Probably" he waved his hand in a sort of dismissive gesture. He then did one of the rudest things possible to get out of the conversation, in Nico's opinion.

Hades flicked his wrist and the shadows from the chamber immediately engulfed Nico's world into darkness, again, just nearly avoiding Nico muttering "vaffanculo" in anger.

The next thing Nico knew, he was being blinded by sunlight and turning deaf from the loudest goat scream Nico had ever heard.

Wait...

Goat scream?

End note: this chapter is a lil shorter than I'd have liked but oh well. Do comment if you notice any spelling mistakes or errors!

Words: 1137