This is a sequel/companion piece to Run this Town, pre-read is necessary! I wrote that fic before reading BOO and falling in love with Solangelo, so I decided why not write a superhero AU for them too? Enjoy and review!
Nico Di Angelo was not a hero.
He never wanted to be one; he always found the idea daunting, to have a whole city rely on you for every little thing. He grew up around heroes; his dad and his sister were both actively using their powers for good (or, In his Father's case- neutrally). Bianca had been a great hero. Someone to look up to, a loved figure in the city and across the world.
When she died, Nico was against being a hero even more. When his father died, the whole idea of them was unthinkable.
He didn't hate heroes, no way- he admired them a lot. Their bravery, their loyalty to their people and the sacrifices they made for justice and the safety of normal lives. Nico did his part in his own way, taking up a position in the police force, not using his powers unless his partner or one of his team was in danger. An unavoidable situation was when his powers came out.
After the battle with Luke and Kronos, Nico was a little less against the whole hero gig. He didn't know how he got roped into the whole thing; but suddenly he was one of them, part of a team like his sister, taking down the bad guys like she did. He thought about that day a lot- she came back to him that day, protected him from harm- he'd spent so long trying not to remember her because it hurt to know she was gone that seeing her completely threw him. He felt at peace with her death, able to let her fade once more when he was safe, knowing she was watching over him. It was strange for a man with deathly gifts to have his view on death change so quickly.
He was offered a place on the team not long after, and he negotiated his terms- he didn't want a double life, no masks or lies or the rest of the secrecy that came with heroism; he would continue being a cop, help out when needed, and that would be it. No more, no less.
He didn't realise he wasn't the only new face on the team.
Percy Jackson was never really 'new', exactly; Typhoon had been around for as long as the young team were, doing his own thing, making women swoon and eyes swivel. Nico, admittedly, was one of them. He couldn't help it- the hero was perfect, and when he met the man behind the mask he was even more appealing. It wasn't fair. Of course Percy then went and fell for Night Owl (stupid hero and his stupid Hetrosexuality), joining the team happily. Jason/Blue Lightning- another pretty hero- had also found himself a girlfriend, which left Nico grumpy, slightly bitter and the one single guy amongst a group of couples. No way was he joining that.
So no, Percy was not the new face on the team; no one even told Nico about the new guy before he was called out to help the group with a nasty hellhound pack that was causing chaos in the city centre. He deliberated driving in a cop car, but he realised it was likely to get totalled (probably by Frank, who had a habit of smashing up his cars) and the state would no longer pay for damages. Shadow travelling it was. Nico grumbled, knowing his shadow travelling would drain his energy, but he had to do it- running across the city was not an option.
"Nico! Help a brother out!" Percy called through his mask once Nico had arrived, and Nico could tell the guy was grinning, probably very much enjoying shooting jets of water at the hounds and watching them squirm.
"You're an idiot Typhoon!" Nico replied, and he laughed.
"They're not responding to my charmspeak" Piper announced, appearing next to Nico as if accusing him for their lack of response to her powers. He shrugged.
"Death monsters. They won't respond to love charms. Looks like you're gonna have to leave it to me" He sighed, and she nodded.
"You don't want them killed?" She assumed.
"They're dying out on their own, my father had a particular use for hellhounds. I'd like to spare a few for his memory"
Piper nodded and began shouting to the others to not kill the creatures- a figure in golden armour made a yell of protest. Who was that guy? Nico didn't recall anyone getting an outfit change recently. He crossed the city centre- a beautiful pedestrianized plaza with trees and market stalls dotted around- in large strides, approaching the six hellhounds that were growling and circling, the cause of the line of destruction that spread south from this point. Nico held out his palms, trying to send out some positive feelings, to assure the Hounds he wasn't a threat like the others had shown themselves to be. Nico wouldn't hurt them, Nico was their friend. They began to growl in unison, and Nico slowed, keeping his hands in sight.
"Calm, Good hellhounds" Nico rumbled, keeping his voice even and relaxed, and three of the Hounds quietened. He didn't want to scare them with his powers unless he had to, that would only make them fear and distrust him.
"Why does that work when he says it? When I say 'good dog' I nearly get my arm taken off" Jason muttered from nearby. Nico smirked.
"Its okay guys, they're not gonna hurt you. No one is going to spook you now, okay?" Nico soothed. The Hounds crept closer, one being nudged aside as the others took the lead. She was smaller, obviously female, being protected by her pack as the others checked Nico out for danger. He could see the swell of her stomach that told him a litter was on its way; he needed her out of the city before the noise and the heroes stressed her into losing the puppies.
"Guys, I'm gonna lead them back to the country- stay whilst the mother has her litter" Nico announced, and he looked over his shoulder to see several confused expressions.
"Litter?" Inferno asked, mystified. Luckily Annabeth didn't look surprised.
"Take Solace with you, he's a Doctor" She said, and the golden boy walked forward. His armour seemed to glow faintly, his eyes were blue under his helmet, strands of blonde hair falling into his eyes.
Damn, Nico always had a small thing for blondes. He hoped Solace had some ugly skin problems under his hero disguise and not give him any excuse to stare like a fool. In fact he hoped he wouldn't see under the suit; he wasn't too bothered about a new hero at the moment, more about the pregnant Hell hound in the city centre.
"Come on" Nico muttered.
"Where are we going Officer?" Solace asked. Nico rolled his eyes.
"Just shut up and follow me would you?"
He whistled to the Hell Hounds and they all gathered around him instantly, recognising the high pitched whistle to be something his father used to call them with. He set off walking, and the pack followed obediently, one even offering Nico a ride. He climbed aboard his back and Solace was plucked up by a second Hound, and the group turned back the way they came.
"You guys made a real mess here, what were you doing running into a city?" Nico asked, almost scolding them. The pack whined quietly, guiltily.
"Its all right, you just need to get out before she gives birth. Hell Hounds need to be born out of the way of humans- we don't want you domesticated like the other dogs"
At this there were several rumbling noises; looks like the hell hounds agreed with Nico on that one.
"Why do they listen to you?" Solace asked.
"My Father was Hades; They were real close to him" Nico replied.
"Oh, right. My Dad was Apollo"
"No wonder you're the Golden boy"
Solace chuckled.
"And no wonder you look like the poster child for death; have you slept at all in your life?" He asked. Nico scowled.
"I was on a case, and I hope you know that dark circles under the eyes are an Italian thing" He grumbled.
"You're Italian? Say something in Italian"
Nico said something along the lines of 'You're an idiot and I'd love to sew your mouth shut' , to which Solace nodded.
"Didn't think you could actually speak it. Sounds cool man, I'm not gonna ask you what you just told me"
"That's wise"
Solace just laughed.
They travelled in silence for a while, passing numerous people who stood and stared at the parade of Hell Hounds. Eventually, Nico relaxed; they reached the edge of the City, where the houses became less frequent, trees had no longer been planted in boxes and in neat little rows, people were more sparse. They ventured away from the roads that connected Olympus to everywhere else, heading for more wild places.
"So, why aren't you on the team if your dad is Hades? Shouldn't that make you a compulsory member?" Solace asked curiously as they reached the tree line to a small wooded area.
"What's with the Questions?" Nico shot back suspiciously. He wasn't a fan about people asking him about his life. Since his family were all dead his past was not a cheery subject. He didn't get why Solace was so curious.
"Its weird riding in silence. So? Team? No?" Solace pressed.
"I prefer being a cop"
"But you helped them the minute they called"
"It was Hell Hounds"
"Why didn't you want them killed? Pretty dangerous if you ask me"
"I didn't ask you, and you've not died on the three hours we've been riding them" Nico pointed out. Solace huffed.
"Fine, avoid my Questions. Lets deliver some Hell Hound pups and go home"
Nico thought that was a great idea (though no way he would give Solace the satisfaction of letting him know) and they kept going, Nico looking around to check on the pregnant Hound every five minutes or so. She looked much happier to be back in what Nico guessed was their territory- or close to it- and that made him feel better; the pups are no longer in danger of being miscarried from stress now she was nearly home.
The pack's territory began at the edge of a stream and stretched toward a cliff face, where all of the Hounds gathered in a wide, spacious cave. They weren't small creatures, so even in a large space there was limited room, every hound was pressed against each other once they all settled. Nico and Solace dismounted and the Golden boy immediately went to the Pregnant Hound, who only allowed him to touch her and her unborn cubs once Nico had sat with her and calmed her enough, letting her know that Solace was no danger to her.
"Hmm, at least seven in there from what I can tell" Solace reported quietly, running a hand across the Hound's underbelly "Though there's only six teats. That might be a problem. And the pups aren't due for another few days or so"
"A few days?" Nico asked, and he nodded.
"At least two- are you gonna wait that long here?"
"I'm not leaving her, Solace"
"Right, so we better find a spot" He replied briskly. Nico grumbled. Great, another few days with only Solace's company- he'd prefer having five angry Hell Hounds then enduring the riveting conversations the newbie would try to initiate him in. Nico wasn't really a talker- not since being a little kid- so having a glowing Apollo boy accompany him wasn't his ideal plan. He would've preferred Annabeth, who he'd always gotten along with, or even Praetor, who he'd visited a few times and helped with the Legion- she and him had formed a good friendship over the past year. He and Reyna would've been just fine out here in the woods, they'd have made a campfire and given in to the childish conversations they usually didn't show with everyone else.
"You know, you're the least curious person I've ever met" Solace announced suddenly, about half an hour later, sitting down in front of Nico whilst he fiddled with the taser he was obliged to carry. He hated the thing, it looked evil to him, and using it was just awful. He was pretty sure he'd accidentally picked up the one Leo had been tinkering with last time he was at the station (arson, what a surprise), the one that sprouted flowers when he fired it. Maybe he would prefer that one, though it wouldn't be of any use when an armed robber came at him with a gun and his sword was at home.
"Oh? I thought I was curious" Nico replied, remembering all the times he'd been in trouble for curiosity. Like finding his previous boss and one of his co-workers going at it in the bathrooms at the station. Or following a pretty light and finding a dracanae at the end of it. Maybe he just wasn't curious about people.
"Are you serious? We've never met and you haven't asked me what I'm doing here, why I'm on the team, where I'm from- you don't even know my name for God's sake!" Solace cried. Nico raised an eyebrow. What was the dude's problem? Did it offend him that Nico was indifferent to where he was from? From his accent he guessed that Solace was Southern, but it wasn't a nagging urge to find out like it is for him to know exactly where Nereids go when they sleep or what would happen if a Satyr ate too much metal (Grover, who was in no way permanently damaged, did have to spend two days in hospital- though he and Percy just laughed it off afterward and told Nico to quit worrying, as if it wasn't the first time it had happened. Juniper told him it wasn't).
"Your name is Solace" Nico shrugged. Solace huffed.
"That's my last name. Go on, ask me my first"
"Why?"
"Because if we're gonna be here three days, we might as well get to know each other"
"Three? You said two before" Nico said. Solace shrugged.
"Two, three, no difference- they'll be easier if you at least talk to me" He reasoned. Nico sighed.
"What's your name?" Nico asked, hating that he was giving into this stranger. Solace beamed under his helmet.
"Name's Will Solace. And you, officer?"
"Nico Di Angelo"
"How Italian. Its nice to meet you Officer Di Angelo" Will grinned, offering a tanned hand. Nico shook it reluctantly. His hands were much larger than Nico's, and much warmer too. It was a side-effect of being a death kid that made his skin constantly cold. Jason liked to joke that he was cold blooded, though it was always light-hearted.
"Same to you, Solace" Nico replied, dropping his hand and fiddling with the taser again.
"I can tell you hate that thing" Will said, eyeing the thing suspiciously.
"I do. But it's a requirement to wear one. Some people like attacking cops" Nico shrugged.
"You can handle them though, right? I heard you have some great powers hidden away"
"Usually I fight them off. What?" Nico snapped, noticing that Will didn't look like he believed him.
"Nothing, you just uh- don't look like a wrestler"
"I'm stronger than I look"
"I sure hope so, you don't look strong enough to hold a cup of coffee"
Nico scowled. There was a challenge in Will's eyes.
"I'm just small- I could whoop your ass no problem"
"Yeah, sure you could"
"I could!"
"In your dreams, short stack"
"Who are you calling short you tin can of Hell hound dung?!"
At this, Will roared with laughter. Nico glared as the son of Apollo fell back against a Hell Hound, clutching his sides and howling with laughter. Nico tried to keep on scowling, but his annoyance hadn't stayed for long, and he looked back down at his hands, not eyeing the long neck that Will had bared when he threw his head back. No, Nico thought- he'd cut that out before it started.
"My my, you are a ray of Sunshine, Officer" Will giggled, wiping his eyes. His helmet shielded most of his face from view- what wasn't covered was painted a bright yellow- Will was a neon sign for monsters, it was nearly laughable.
"Shut up Solace" Nico grumbled.
"Only if you make me, officer" Will replied cheekily. Nico blinked. Was that a flirtation? Nico was never on the receiving end (he never did much flirting either), so it was hard to tell, but he was pretty sure that could be flirting. He felt heat rise to his cheeks and he glared.
"Whatever" He snapped "I'm going to get some wood for a fire"
And with that, he got up and stalked out of the cave, carrying his taser with him and cursing Will Solace for nearly making him- Gods forbid- blush.
Turns out Leo had been messing with the taser and Nico would be having serious words with him once he got back. he'd collected an arm full of wood fit for making a fire with, and was gathering more when someone grabbed his shoulder. Nico instinctively yelped and turned around, brandishing the only thing left in his hand- the stupid black box of electrical doom. He pressed the button and set it off, only instead of shocking his attacker, the taser let out a high pitched scream and fired whipped cream out of the end.
Really. Leo was getting seriously pranked when Nico got home.
Will blinked a few times, just as surprised as Nico was, before a large grin stretched across his face.
"Don't you dare start laughing Solace" Nico snapped, throwing the weapon away and picking up the firewood.
"That's some self defence mechanism you got there Sunshine- was that you screaming?" Will teased, trying and failing to hold in his chuckles.
"No" Nico replied "Blame Leo for that"
"You ruined my armour" Will pouted, looking down at his chest, which had now stopped glowing, extinguished by the whipped cream.
"Just clean it off and stop being a baby" Nico told him sharply.
"I might save it. If you get hungry, you can always lick it off my-"
"Shut up. Shut up right now" Nico cut him off, beginning to walk back to the cave. He'd have to start the fire outside, so he didn't spook any of the Hell Hounds who preferred the dark and the shadows. The fire would agitate them and he couldn't have that.
"Aw, come on Sunshine" Will whined "You're no fun"
"Stop calling me that" Nico growled. Will just laughed.
"It suits you- Sunshine"
Nico was so close to throwing a stick at him. So, so close. He stomped back to the cave and dropped the sticks outside, arranging them into a suitable pile, and then pulled a small silver lighter out of his pocket.
"You smoke?" Will asked.
"No- you know those things can kill you" Nico replied dryly, and Will rolled his eyes.
"So sarcastic, Sunshine- I'll never get a straight answer out of you, will I?"
"Not likely"
Will just sighed. Nico lit the fire and sat down on the ground before it, feeling the effects of his earlier shadow travel settle in his bones. He rested his head on his knees and watched the growing flames, making sure they didn't spread and cause a forest fire. Will tested the whipped cream on his tongue, and once he deemed it okay it was gone within a few moments, leaving Nico both impressed and slightly disgusted.
"So, Nico- you may not be curious about me, but I am very curious about you, and your shenanigans with the team. So tell me your story" Will suggested, sitting on the opposite side of the fire. The sun was beginning to sink through the trees, making light bounce from his golden armour, turning the guy into a miniature sun right in front of Nico. Nico hugged his knees defensively.
"Why would you want to know that? Its not exactly cheery" He grumbled, and Will shrugged.
"I hear the others talk about you a lot- guess I wanna know more"
The others talked about Nico? Enough to make a complete stranger curious about his existence? Nico was rather touched, even if it turned out that it was the persistent Will Solace that wanted to know his life story.
"Yeah well, not much to know. I'm a cop. I have super powers. I was born in Italy with my Mom but then we moved here to be with my dad. That's about it"
Will didn't look very impressed with Nico's watered-down re-telling of his life. Far from it, in fact.
"You don't open up much do you? I can tell I'll have to work hard to get you to talk to me" He muttered.
"I am talking to you" Nico pointed out, and Will snorted.
"I meant without you brushing off every question I ask you about your past or yourself. Its not that hard to talk you know"
"Yeah well, easy for you to say"
"It isn't! My Name is Will, I was born in Louisianna and grew up on a farm with my Mom. I knew I had powers since I was a boy and I used them to work, because the crops weren't doing so good and we were running low on cash. I moved up here about a month ago now the farm is on its feet and my Mom has found a nice guy, and I can be a hero like I wanted, and help out in the Infirmary. I'm good at archery and healing hymns, and I can curse people to speak in rhyming couplets. See, easy" Will reeled off, and Nico sighed.
"I just don't do talking, Solace" He told him, and Will raised an eyebrow.
"An action man, are you? You don't look the type, but then you don't look like a Chatty Cathy either. Are you okay?" Will asked, noticing that Nico had begun to slump over slightly.
"Yeah, just shadow travelling, takes it out of me sometimes"
"You should sleep"
"I'm fine"
"As a medic I advise you rest"
"Will, I'm fine"
"Doctor's orders"
"Ugh, Fine! If you'll shut up" Nico snapped, and Will grinned.
"Will do Officer! Sweet dreams"
Nico stalked into the cave and found and space beside the pregnant Hellhound, taking off his jacket and using it as a pillow, he drifted into a weary sleep.