honestly idk where this came from, i just really wanted to write some jasico and somehow this is what i came up with.
i've also never finished a multi chaptered thing before so i'm really challenging myself with this one! updates will probably be pretty irregular since my work schedule can change week to week. this is very loosely based on season 2 of the supergirl tv show
The di Angelos were like weeds, you get rid of one and another pops up seemingly out of nowhere.
Hades di Angelo had finally been put away for his multiple crimes and was no longer in charge of his company, only now his son had take his place. Not much was known about Hades' family, only that his wife died in a tragic accident, and his daughter, Bianca, only a little older than her brother, Nico, died as well not too long ago. Hades had kept Nico out of the public's eye since then, no one knew anything about him, other than that he was the son of a now known notorious villain. Needless to say his acquisition of his father's company put quite a few people on edge. Especially the heroes.
This was how Jason found himself standing outside of di Angelo Incorporated, with an appointment to interview the new CEO. He had been lucky to convince Snapper that he would be able to get an interview with di Angelo and wouldn't be wasting his time or resources.
After showing his ID and confirming his appointment Jason rode the elevator to the top floor. He took a minute to take a breath. He had no idea what to expect from this man, but then again that was kind of the reason he was here. Still for a moment he wished Supergirl were with him; with the di Angelos' being her arch nemesis she knew far more about them than almost anyone else. She'd probably know what to look for, what kind of questions to ask to make him say something he shouldn't. Though then again she had only ever dealt with Hades.
When the doors finally opened Jason approached the receptionist and repeated the same process he'd undergone when he entered the building, a few minutes later he was shown through to di Angelo's office.
The room was plain white and pristine, natural light bounced off the walls from the floor to ceiling windows, which were partially blocked by a desk. A dark clad figure leaned against the desk with his back turned to Jason.
This must be Nico di Angelo. Jason thought.
He seemed either unaware or uninterested that he had a visitor. Jason took the opportunity to do a quick x-ray scan of the room, but found nothing. Finally Mr. di Angelo turned and sat the tablet he'd been using on the desk. Now that Jason could see him better he noticed that he was dressed in a dark grey suit with a complementary red dress shirt, and his hair was clearly longer than standard, but was currently pulled back.
"Jason Grace," he said, still having not looked up at him. "From CatCo Magazine, not exactly known for it's hard hitting journalism. Either they don't think I'm as much of a threat as I was lead to believe, or they just sent you here to insult me." Finally he looked up at Jason. "So which is it?"
"I-uh-neither." Jason fumbled with his notepad under the intense stare. Mr. di Angelo raised an eyebrow at him as he sat down.
"Really? Are you sure you're not here to ask me who designs my clothes or how I style my hair?" He leaned back in his chair. "Because I don't have time for that, I'm a very busy man Mr. Grace."
"That's not why I'm here."
"Then let's cut to the chase, shall we? Ask me what you want to ask. I'm assuming your first question is if I'm anything like my father?"
"...Are you?"
"I can say I'm nothing like him as much as I please, but people won't believe that. I have to prove it."
"Which is why I'm here. You're now the head of an extremely well known company, and no one knows anything about you other than who your father is. People want to know who you are. What your plans for this company are."
"Who am I? Isn't that the question of the year. I know my father has done… terrible things. All I want to do is take this company back and repair the family name. Make something good from all the bad he's caused. A fresh start, if you will." He stood and walked around the desk. "As for specific plans, I'm not revealing anything just yet. After all, there are so many who want to see me fail."
He was a couple inches shorter than Jason, so he had to look up slightly to meet his eyes. "I guess that answers my next question as to how you feel about your father being in jail."
"If the answer you got from that was I'm not heartbroken by the news, then sure."
"I just have a few more questions." Mr. di Angelo gestured for him to ask. "What's it like to be in the spotlight after so many years of living off radar and in the shadows?" For a moment Jason thought he saw a ghost of a smile on his face.
"To be quite honest, I'd prefer to be left alone, but I understand that's no longer a luxury of mine."
"What did you do all those years?"
He leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms, and seemed to think for a moment before answering. "I spent a lot of that time in Italy with distant relatives." Before Jason could ask, di Angelo continued, "on my mother's side, no relation to Hades. My father only really called to check up on me twice a month, so I was unaware of what was going on here in the states."
"And this was after Bianca…?"
"Yes." He grimaced as he said it.
"Do you think your sister would be in your position if she were still alive?"
Mr. di Angelo's eyes hardened and whatever trace of a smile was there was now vanished and replaced by a thin line.
"Yes, she was supposed to be the original successor." Jason opened his mouth to ask more questions but was cut off before he could. "I think we're done here."
He walked toward the door and before Jason could protest he was being ushered out.
"Have a good day, Mr. Grace." He said as Jason left, but his face said the opposite.
"So how was the interview with Evil Jr.?" Thalia asked when Jason entered the DEO headquarters.
"It's probably something I'd avoid putting on my resume."
"That bad huh?" She looped an arm around his shoulders. "But hey, it was only like, what? Your Third? Fourth interview?"
"He kicked me out when I brought up his sister."
"You asked him about his sister? Bro, the dude might possibly be evil but even I know that's no-go territory."
"Yeah, I got that thanks. It wasn't exactly a shining moment for me. Now I just need to figure out how to turn what I did get out of him into an actual article so Snapper won't bite my head off." He sighed and let his shoulders sag. "Why can't journalism be as easy as catching bad guys?"
Thalia chuckled and patted his arm before releasing him. "There, there baby bird, you'll figure it out. Article aside, what's your take on him?"
He stood there absently watching the monitors that covered the wall. "It's just… I don't know. He said he just wanted a fresh start, to make good from the bad. I mean he wasn't nice exactly but he wasn't horrible either. Maybe he's telling the truth and a new start is all he's after."
"Children aren't their parents." She said.
"You're right."
"But sometimes they are. I know you want to believe in the best in everyone, but until you know which one he is you gotta be careful."
"Always."
They didn't get to talk much more before someone clapped Jason on the back, they turned to see Chiron.
"Jason, a word?"
"Yeah, sure." He led Jason a short distance away. "I heard you had an interview with di Angelo today."
"Yes sir."
"What do you think of him?"
"I'm not sure I know enough about him to form a real opinion yet."
"That's fair. Though I don't think I have to warn you to stay on your toes. Especially now that he's in a position of power, he might be plotting some sort of revenge for his sister's death."
"Wait, what do you mean? Her killer was arrested."
"According to the public that's true."
"But it's not?"
"Bianca's death wasn't your run of the mill murder. In short she was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Are you saying that…?"
"It was an accident, but it was by the carelessness of a hero all the same."
"Why didn't I know about this? Why didn't anyone?" Just the look on Chiron's face was answer enough. "You covered it up, and you blamed someone else."
"We didn't have a choice. There would have been too much chaos if this had gotten out, but the hero in question has long been dealt with."
"But di Angelo knows the truth."
"We've always assumed that he has. We know for sure that Hades knew, it's one of the reasons he hates us so much."
"If he does know then having an agent follow him around and keep tabs on him probably wouldn't end well."
"I know what you're going to say, and we already have people on it."
"Fine." Jason said reluctantly.
"When you do encounter him, be careful and don't underestimate him."
Chiron patted him on the shoulder and walked away. Jason made his way over to Leo, who spun around in his chair when he saw him approach.
"So your interview didn't go great?"
Jason looked at him for a bit before he said, "Eavesdropper."
"One of my many talents." Leo shrugged. "You're still totally going to keep an eye on him aren't you?"
"Yep. I mean how can I not?"
"Well..."
"It's my job to keep people safe. How can I do that if I'm not even sure he's someone that they need to be protected from?"
"And that's why you're the hero between us, and I'm here at a desk, at a safe distance, where I can help in my own way."
"Speaking of helping..."
"Already on it." He spun back around to face the computer. "From what I've seen they don't know much about him either."
Before Jason could respond his phone rang in his pocket.
"I gotta go, it's work." He said after he'd dug it out. "Then I'm probably going to spend the rest of the night figuring out how to turn this interview into an article that's Snapper approved. Keep me updated?"
"Sure, and good luck with that."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Jason replied sarcastically.
The blinking line on the blank page seemed to be taunting him. Jason had already gotten up for snacks three times now, hoping that the words would come to him. But unfortunately that didn't always work. Sometimes the only thing to do was just write, write and fix it later. So he sat himself down and did just that.
The next day Snapper didn't call him into his office to yell at him, so Jason assumed that it was decent enough.
The day after, however, was a different story. Once again Jason found himself in di Angelo's office.
"I must admit," di Angelo said dropping the magazine onto the desk. "This isn't quite what I expected, especially after how I ended the interview."
"About that, I wanted to apologize for those questions about your sister. It was rude and insensitive. And I usually don't ask questions like that, so I'm sorry."
"But you're a reporter, isn't it in your job description to ask invasive questions?"
"Sometimes yes, but I try to avoid it."
"Well thank you, for not using that against me." He picked up the magazine. "This is just the kind of publicity that I need to help set me apart from my father. To show I'm different."
"I just wrote what I felt was true from what I saw." Jason shrugged. "It shouldn't matter who your dad is, you deserve a chance to prove yourself."
"In theory yes. But once you bring the name di Angelo into the equation that kind of thinking usually goes out the window. I'm grateful you're not one of them." He looked down for a moment and then back up. "That's why I asked you to stop by today. To thank you sincerely, in person."
Perhaps he's not the threat we thought he was. Jason started to think, but then he remembered Chiron's advice from just a few days before. 'Don't underestimate him.'
So Jason wouldn't. He wouldn't purposefully slander him but he would remain skeptical of di Angelo until he had proven himself like he'd promised he would.