When Worlds Collide

123) Sitting in the Dark

A/N: THIS ONE MEETS MY WORD COUNT GOAL!!! WOOOOOO!!!!

Nico, despite all his wishes and prayers, woke up. He felt cold metal beneath him and already knew that he didn't want to be there. What fresh hell had Luthor come up with this time?

"Please, no," Nico muttered, hesitantly moving his arms to block the light from bleeding through his eyes. He expected to be restrained, but he wasn't.

"Nico, it's okay. You're-" a voice said as they gently touched his arm, but the touch sent fear surging through Nico.

The demigod jolted away from the touch, causing himself to fall off of the metal table. He tried to stand up and get away, only to realize his prosthetic had been taken off. He kept his eyes sealed tightly, one arm still blocking the light, while he used the other one to move until his back hit a wall.

The second his back was against the wall, he stopped moving. There was no where to go. He couldn't run, he couldn't hide, and he didn't even bother trying to using his powers.

"Nico," the voice said again, this time from farther away. "It's okay. We got you out. You can look around— we're in the cave's medbay."

Nico knew the voice, but he couldn't trust it. It was just a dream, or maybe Luthor was mocking him in some way— making him feel hope again just to rip it away.

"It's not real. It's not real. It's not real," Nico whispered in a loop, trying to crush the hope in his chest before it could truly form.

'Bruce' let out a small breath of worry. "I swear that I'm real. You're home. Luthor can't get to you any more."

It sounded like Bruce. Nico wanted to believe it wasn't him, but it sounded just like his dad.

"When's my birthday?" Nico questioned.

Bruce chuckled lightly, though there was a sadness to it. "No clue, but your Gotcha Day is July 25th."

Nico's breath hitched. They had told the media that this birthday was July 25th. Only his family knew the truth. "What was the mortal name my father used for his death certificate?"

"Haden DiAngelo, no middle name," Bruce said immediately.

Nico was silent for a long moment before he whispered. "Can you turn off the lights?"

He heard footsteps before a click of a light switch. Nico couldn't tell if they were off considering his eyes were still covered by his arm, but he chose to take the risk. He believed it was Bruce, and Bruce wouldn't trick him. He slowly put down his arm and peaked open his eyes. When they were open and he was still met with only darkness, he felt true relief wash over him.

"Bruce?" He said quietly, eyes adjusting to the dark as he looked around the room.

"I'm here," Bruce said softly, slowly making his way across the room before sitting next to Nico abasing the wall, still leaving a few feet between them.

Nico stared at him for a long moment, his eyes fully adjusted to the dark. "You... you were looking for me."

Bruce's eyebrows drew together. "Of course we were."

"We?"

Bruce smiled softly at him. "Everyone. All the bats, demigods from camp, both superboys, Wally, Roy— even Thalia came."

"And my team?" Nico asked, fear still feeling like static under his skin.

Bruce ran a hand through his hair. "When we finally got to the scene, only Percy, Annabeth, and Kayla were there. They were saved from being taken by Jason and Leo. It took us a while to figure out what actually happened and where you were all being held, but eventually we had our targets. We ran 9 simultaneous raids." Bruce took in a breath, his face growing a pained look. "You were the only one we couldn't find."