When Worlds Collide

91) Instant Regret

A/N: I was halfway through editing this when I realized that I'm in a different timezone than usual, so while this is technically an hour late, it was also technically on time

Nico stood in front of his cabin as he waited for the rest of his team to get there. He had made Vigil stay inside with the blinds drawn and door closed. He knew Virgil would stay true to his word about keeping quiet if he saw anything, but that's didn't mean he wasn't gonna try to keep him from learning anything about his people.

"Yo, DiAngelo!" a girl's voice called from his right.

Nico turned and saw Juliet jogging towards him. "LeBeau," he said with a small smile. "Long time no see."

The girl stepped onto the porch of his cabin and gave him a smile. "You should have been here last Friday. It was Heph-"

"Numbers only," he said, cutting her off. "I have a hero from the League in my cabin."

Juliet looked at him in confusion, but still nodded. "It was 9 vs 20."

Nico's eyes widened. "Holy Hera," he muttered. "Was Leo back for that?"

Juliet just smiled and shook her head. "Nope, he was in Texas."

"So it was Nyssa vs Lou Ellen?"

"Yep, and it was totally awesome. My family sided with 20, but let me tell you, Harley pulled out all the stops."

"Labyrinth?"

"No, Chiron banned all Labyrinth use during the game after the Kentucky incident."

Nico nodded, remembering the story about how a Hermes kid got lost in the Labyrinth during a game and ended up in Kentucky. They had to send some kids on a quest to get him back. They found him in a KFC bathroom, hiding from a group of telekhines.

"Any major injuries?"

Juliet just shrugged. "Eh. Depends on your definition."

Nico snorted. "According to Will's definition?"

"Oh, tons— but based off of your definition, basically none at all." She hopped up to sit on the railing of the small porch. "It all turned out fine. No lost limbs or death, so it was a good game. 20 won, but it was close. This week is gonna be 20 versus 17."

"That's gonna be interesting. Holly and Laurel might have a heart attack if they don't win. Whose team are you on?"

"We haven't made any commitments yet," Juliet said with a shrug before nodding towards the door of his cabin. "Care to explain why you have a Leaguer in your cabin?"

"He's not in  the League technically, he's just one of the teens from the protege team." Nico leaned back against the door. "B's out of town and there are two supervillains on the loose that have vendettas against the family, so he got the Junior Leaguers to watch us. I needed to come here, but they wouldn't let me, so this was our compromise."

"He's going with you on the mission?" Juliet said, looking surprised. "Annabeth was telling me about it, and this seems like kinda a bad time to have a babysitter on your tail."

Nico shrugged. "He's a decent enough fighter. The plan is for him to stay on the sidelines, but-"

"But when does any plan ever actually work when it comes to your group," Juliet finished, nodding in agreement. "Does he know what he's in for?"

Nico shook his head. "He knows it's a mission, but not how big it is. I have him reading the book full of maneuvers that we had Rach translate for us."