Ghost King Meets Batman

Deathstroke Sucks

[Edited July 19, 2022]

Once Nico had determined that this guy was definitely following him and not just headed in a similar direction, the seriousness of the situation set in. He was being hunted, and he didn't think it was by some sewer maintenance guys.

It didn't take him long to decide on his next course of action, he needed to try to evade his pursuer, and fast. Escape and evasion weren't his strong suits, but he'd have to hope that what Batman had taught him would be enough. The son of Hades wasn't holding his breath.

One of the important skills Nico had picked up during his E&E training was counter-surveillance. This was when you used your surroundings to look out for people who were watching you. Looking at reflective surfaces to see who was behind you, watching people's faces to see if they reacted to something outside of your line of sight (such as moving out of the way), counting and tracking the shadows of everyone around you to make sure there was the correct number. There were more things to look for but none that were useful in his current conditions. Alone, in the dark, with the noises of the city making it impossible to hear footsteps behind him. His only chance were the reflections.

The son of Hades was glancing in every reflective surface he passed, trying to catch a glimpse of who or what was behind him. Eventually, he managed to glimpse the man in a shop window and it was Deathstroke himself. He also knew that Deathstroke wasn't the type to accidentally get spotted so he had to assume that the masked man had wanted him to see who was following him. He was trying to scare the boy and it was working. Nico had heard the stories that Richard had told about the mercenary and Nico wasn't very interested in meeting the monster himself.

That being said, it looked like he wasn't going to have much of a choice. His goal right now is to find backup so that he may not die. Ghost didn't want to shadow travel unless he had to because as long as Deathstroke didn't realize he had powers, he still had an advantage. Never underestimate the power of surprised in a fight. It could mean the difference between life and death.

There was also the possibility that exposing himself as a person with powers might increase the level of the mercenery's interest in him. It might mean that , even if he did escape, Deathstroke might find it worth his time to hunt him down. He had heard of Deathstroke's tendency to try and recruit teen vigilantes (mainly Nightwing when he was Robin) as his apprentices. If Deathstroke knew about his powers and managed to inhibit them somehow, he'd have no way to escape if Deathstroke captured him.

He had to escape without using his powers.

The goal at the moment was to find trees. Lots and lots of trees where he could call Ivy and hopefully she could come to help. He would just have to come up with a good reason for her to care about his alter ego but he was sure that he could come up with something since his life depended on it. Nico saw a park about a block ahead of him and ran for it. Of course, he knew that he couldn't outrun Deathstroke, but hopefully, he would have enough time before the mercenary caught up with him to tell the trees what he needed to. After that, Nico would just try to stall him until help arrived. That was probably the only way he would have a chance at surviving this.

Nike must have been on his side tonight because he made it to the park and immediately ran over to the nearest tree. It probably looked idiotic to an outsider, but Nico didn't have the time to worry about what he looked like at the moment. Nico whispered to it, hoping that Deathstroke wasn't close enough to overhear him, "Ivy? I'm a friend of Nico's. I've been searching for Percy, but now Deathstroke is after me. Please send help!" The disguised demigod begged before turning to flee deeper into the park. He had lost some ground and time with the pit stop but hopefully, he could still keep ahead of him for a few more minutes to give the plants time to relay his message to Ivy.