Don't Fear the Reaper

73) He is Baby Girl

Nico stood on the holographic training platform, breathing rapidly as he watched the figures disappear as the machine shut down, a notification popping up that the system had overheated. He'd woken up as the rest of the Mountain's residents were going to bed and immediately went to the training room, leaving the the bag Tim and Steph had left for him in his room for the time being. While he felt strangely at peace with the dream he'd had, that didn't change the fact that it was still a lot for him to process.

To see the place he'd tried to give his life protecting after so many years away was painful in a way he couldn't explain—and to see the way the once familiar campers had changed made his heart ache in a way he hadn't expected.

"Very impressive," a voice said from behind him, triggering his instincts as he spun and threw a knife at the person. Canary dodged the knife, as if she had been expecting that response, before chuckling lightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Bats warned me, but I guess it slipped my mind."

Nico let out a breath, eyeing her cautiously for a moment before putting his remaining knife in it's sheath and stepping off the platform, crossing the room to retrieve his other knife from where it was stabbed into the stone walls of the mountain. "I wasn't scared, I just can't feel people's presences anymore and my instincts are more lethal than your other 'charges', or whatever they are to you."

The woman just smirked a little, still leaning on the entryway, as if she were entertained by the demigod. "It's nice to hear you talking," she said as she pushed herself off the wall and approached him, offering her hand. "I'm Black Canary, but most of the team just calls me Canary. It's nice to officially meet you. I hear you're called Ghost now, right?"

Nico stared at her hand apprehensively, the idea of shaking it making his stomach twist, and yet the idea of giving into weakness by shying away from the touch felt just as wrong.

"Sorry," Canary said, somehow seeming to know what he was thinking and dropping her offered hand. "I forgot about the 'no touch rule'."

Nico glared at her lightly. "I'm not some scared kid who can't handle-"

"Did I say you were?" Canary questioned, cutting him off. "I just witnessed how strong you are on the simulator, so you don't have to worry about me thinking less of you. You could be the strongest person in the world and still have your own boundaries."

Nico just quietly scoffed, putting his second knife back in it's sheath and walking towards the bag he'd left on the bench next to the simulator.

"Boundaries don't make someone weak," Canary continued, following after him from a distance. "Creating them and reenforcing them is one of the hardest things a person can do, especially when someone grows up in an environment that actively discourages you from creating boundaries."

Nico froze as he reached for his bag, slowly turning to glare at Canary. "Why are you acting like you know anything about me?"

Canary shrugged. "I don't know anything about you, but I've met a lot of people with similar traits as you. Maybe I'm way off, or maybe I'm not."

"You're way off," Nico muttered, picking up the bag and sitting down on the bench. He began removing the sheaths strapped to each of his legs, putting them in the bag.

"So you grew up somewhere that allowed you to set your own boundaries?" she asked.

Nico rolled his eyes, just focusing on the task at hand as he continued removing the weapons from his person and placing them in the bag. "No clue. My memories were erased when I was like 10."

Canary, to her credit, didn't seem thrown by that in the slightest. "I would say a 10 year old is still growing up. I would also argue that a 16 year old is too, however I think that's a conversation for another day."