Don't Fear the Reaper

67) Status Update

A/N: this one is so short, but I couldn't combine it with the next one so... sorry dudes. Also, I got tired and didn't edit this at like all so... yeah 

Jason paced the cave, feeling like his skin was full of ants.

"He's fine," Dick said, though he looked equally anxious. "I talked to Kaldur this morning and he said Nico was fine. Plus, Bruce was able to check on him last night and said the same."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Bruce said that Nico was 'alive and not actively trying to kill anyone'."

Steph, who was lying on the floor, just shrugged. "I mean... considering his track record, that's actually a pretty good report. He's surrounded by strangers in an unfamiliar place, but he hasn't attacked anyone. That's gold star behavior."

Jason ran a hand through his hair, the urge to pull it all out getting increasingly stronger. "Can't I just ditch out on the rest of this training and just bring Nico to a safe house until they all leave? I'll get into a big fight with Bruce and make a whole scene about storming out."

"We need to complete the training," Dick said, shaking out his arms a bit in an attempt to let out his nervous energy. "Not only is it helpful to know just in general, but it also means that we'll never have a repeat of what happened last time."

Jason huffed out a breath, but he knew Dick was right. Watching Nico fight those giants was probably the most scared he had been in recent memory. It wasn't even about the monsters, it was more about the fact that he knew he was completely powerless against them.

Jason had known about demigods for years, and he always thought that knowing meant he couldn't be surprised by this stuff, but that day... it was the first time it was real. Like, gods and demigods were just a fact of reality to him, but he had never seen the ramifications in person. Monsters were just the things he heard stories about whenever Nico visited. They didn't spawn on the island and the LoA was so removed from the rest of the population that none of them ever came looking.

And then those monsters attacked and Jason had to watch as Nico—the kid who he trained beside for 2 years—fought tooth and nail to protect them, despite the fact that he was at a major disadvantage. He watched one of the best fighters he knew get taken down by these monsters, not even because of their skill, but rather because of his family had taken away his powers.

Jason knew that they were making the right decision by keeping him away from the al Ghuls, but, in that moment, he wanted nothing more in the world than to run up and take those godsforsaken ringlets off. He wanted to give Nico back his powers, even if it meant losing him, because he couldn't stand to watch him get slaughtered.

"Fine, I'll stay for the training," Jason said with a sigh. His phone buzzed and he saw that Bruce had texted them to let them know that break time was over. "Speak of the devil..."

"Yay, time to go get our asses handed to us by some godlings," Steph said sarcastically. "I swear, Clarisse isn't even trying to help up get better. I think she just likes watching us fail."

Dick snorted, leading the group towards the exit. "Oh really? What gave you that idea?"

Steph hummed, putting her finger on her chin in faux thought. "Probably when she said 'I like watching them fail, it makes me laugh'."

Jason shook his head with a laugh. "I don't know, that sounds pretty vague. I guess we'll never know how she really feels."

They were silent as the elevator ascended, their internalized anxiety no where near quelled.

"You really think he's okay?" Steph asked as the elevator stopped.

"Yeah," Dick said, trying his best to sound confident. "I'm sure he's made tons of friends." 

A/N: boopy boopy

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