The Intruder

Meet Leo Valdez

"You know him?" Kid Flash blurted.

"I would hope I would know him. He helped save my life, and then I sailed on the flying boat he built. Not to mention I helped him and his friends save the world awhile back, and I fought in the battle that he blew himself up in." Nico smirked, "Meet Leo Valdez. He's the son of the god of the forge and fire. I believe the dragon is named Festus - which means happy in Latin, by the way. I don't know who the other girl is..."

"Calypso." The girl shrugged.

Artemis' eyes widened, "Like as in the Greek Myth?"

"Yeah." Calypso replied, "Leo got me off the island..." She turned to look at Nico, "That's why you didn't see him after the war."

"War?" Robin parroted.

The newcomers and Nico nodded.

"My life is... complicated." Nico supplied.

Artemis huffed, "It sure seems like it."

"You know vigilantes?" Leo asked, surprised.

Nico rolled his eyes, "I am a vigilante now. After..." His face grew solemn, "Annabeth died, Percy and the rest of the seven basically went on a rampage to bring her back - not that they can. I was sent to stop them from storming the underworld. Long story short, I was defeated and injured and I accidentally shadow travelled to a secret Justice League base. Got my injuries treated, and then was put on a team of teen vigilantes."

"Is hero work any better than our life?"

Nico shrugged, "Kinda hard to compare. One has mutants, meta-humans, and maniacs trying to kill you, and the other has monsters, spirits, and gods trying to kill you."

"So... the usual stuff only instead of monsters, you're dealing with mortals?"

"Except you can't kill the mortals, because they won't come back." Nico explained, "Though I have to admit, not being hated for being a child of Hades is kinda nice."

Leo nodded, "Both statements are understandable. I get that your dad is the outcast god and all, but you're a decent person - unlike some people at camp - and you've done nearly as much as Percy. In fact, I think you should be labeled a hero, but... it looks like you're going to be a different, better kind of hero. A mortal hero is still a hero, and, with how people on our end are behaving, better people and coworkers anyway. As for happily ever afters... you know the saying."

"Heroes never get a happy ending." Nico nodded.

"What kind of saying is that?" Wally asked, mortified.

Nico turned around, "Most of us die young. That's not exactly a perfect ending. Have you ever heard of greek myths? They're referred to as tragedies for a reason. Our lives never end well. In a world of kill or be killed, eventually you lose and die."

"I never thought of it like that." Robin tapped his chin, "Still, it's grim way of thinking about it."

"So.... how you doing?" Leo asked awkwardly.

"Same as usual"

Leo snorted. "That bad huh?"

Then, Nico got serious, "I doubt this is a friendly visit though."

"What the Great Mcshizzle can't visit his buddy? I mean come on... we saved the world together, man! I though we'd bonded on the Argo 2!"

Nico stared deadpan at Leo.

"Alright... fine. You're right." Leo ran a hand through his hair as his happy expression dropped, "They're coming. They convinced Lou to tell them where you are. I'm sorry."

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Hiya! Icey5105 here!

Did you like my hints? There's definitely some drama about to commence! Are you ready for your heart to be ripped out and torn to shreds?