Ghost King Meets Batman

A Deal With Death

[Edited July 21, 2022]

[ TW: Temporary character death, Puking, Injury, & Panic Attack ( it will be marked in the chapter itself too, just in case.]

Bruce came through the secret passage at a quick gate-- the pendulum in the fake grandfather clock knocked up against the weights with an uncomfortable, metallic bang. He had clearly been in a hurry if he had such an uncharacteristic disregard for the house. Alfred would normally have gotten on his case for being so careless with antiques, so it was a good thing the butler wasn't here yet. Nico took a few steps back, giving the man his space until he knew whether or not he was angry.

The older man stopped short as he spotted the son of Hades, who had retreated to the other side of the desk. Dick and the others filed into the room after him during the pause. Bruce was staring at Nico for several seconds too long. His jaw worked like he was trying to figure out what to say. That was understandable at least. A mixture of emotions was flickering across his features-- anger, relief, and many others that Nico had trouble placing.

'He's probably going to yell at me, that's surely what I deserve', Nico thought to himself. After a while of indecision, he sighed and just started toward the younger boy. The demigod raised his arms in a feeble attempt to ward him off but the larger man grabbed him anyway. To Nico's surprise, he pulled him into a hug-- he guessed he had worried Bruce more than he thought. After a few seconds, he let go of Nico and gripped his shoulder comfortingly. The demigod looked up into his face to try and get a glimpse of what he was thinking. His features didn't give him any clues.

"I'm glad you're alive. When I heard that you encountered Slade... well, naturally I feared the worst. He's one of the most dangerous men alive. You are... beyond lucky to have survived." He said with an air of seriousness. Nico couldn't help but feel guilty at how much grief he must have caused Bruce. He wasn't trying to cause trouble, again, but here he was. It was a wonder that Bruce had put up with him as long as he had, considering how much trouble he tended to get in. Nico knew that he couldn't be easy to deal with.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go and get myself into trouble. It's just... I had a dream and I wanted to check it out. I usually do things on my own anyway..." The son of Hades trailed off weakly. He knew it was a lame excuse, but the truth would be even worse.

"Not anymore you don't. That's not how things work around here and you know that. We can't afford for something like that to happen. If there was a hostage situation or Slade shows up again..." Bruce trailed off, leaving out the part that they were all thinking. Nico knew he wouldn't be so lucky the second time around.

"I know, and you're right. I wasn't thinking and what I did was reckless and stupid." Nico admitted.

"You're damn right it was, " Bruce sighed and rubbed his face, "I just need to know that you're safe. And when you can't be safe, that at least you're prepared."

"How do you prepare for Slade?" Richard cut in, sounding tired. Nico was curious too. Slade was in a league of his own when it came to danger. He may be human, but he wasn't as easy to goad as the gods were. He didn't get emotional, monologue, or rely on others to fight his battles. Nico may face monsters that come straight from storybooks, but Slade was something even more dangerous and that scared him.

"We're going to train him even harder," Bruce said decidedly. Nico froze as he processed that. He was going to be trained vigilante style? He'd been getting lessons from Batman for the last several months, learning to be proficient in parkour, mixed martial arts, forensic science,  knife/Batarang throwing, and self-defense. What Bruce was proposing would be upping the stakes even more as the vigilantes in the family got trained in everything from foreign language and infiltration to combat and first aid.